THK    SOLDIER   IN   MEXICO. 


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JXSa.  XJjJJ     OXiila,  JJ 


TRIXCJEU  A:  TOWNSEND,  NEW-YORK. 

1 S53 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


ENGLISH    SOLDIER 


UNITED  STATES  AEMY. 


COMPRISING 


OBSERVATIONS  AND  ADVENTURES 


IN     TUB 


STATES  AND  MEXICO. 


NEW  YORK: 
STRINGER  &  TOWNSEND,  222  BROADWAY. 

1854. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1853, 

BY  STBINGEB  AND  TOWKSKND, 
!a  the  Clerk '»  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  Digtnct  of  New  tork. 


DURING  tlie  discussion  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  upon  the  bill  to  confer  additional  military 
rank  upon  General  Winfield  Scott,  in  acknowledg 
ment  of  his  great  services  to  his  country,  General 
Shields  remarked  that  no  worthy  history  of  the 
Mexican  war  had  yet  been  written.  The  truth  of 
the  observation  was  everywhere  felt.  What  has 
hitherto  appeared  on  the  subject,  beyond  the  official 
despatches,  has  more  resembled  romance  than  his 
tory,  being  in  the  main  confined  to  dashing  narra 
tives  of  the  personal  adventures  of  roving  or  belli 
gerent  Hotspurs,  who  knew  little  and  cared  less  about 
the  discipline  and  routine  of  the  every-day  life  of  the 
regular  soldier  ;  or  on  the  other  hand  to  eulogistic 
compilations,  prepared  for  sale,  rather  than  as  contri- 


PREFACE. 


butions  to  history.  The  writers  of  both  classes  have 
"  cast  discreetly  into  shade'7  whatever  would  "  offend 
the  eye"  of  the  readers  they  sought  to  appreciate. 

As  a  partial  remedy  for  the  evil  complained  of  by 
the  gallant  officer  above  referred  to,  the  publishers 
put  forth  the  present  volume.  If  it  does  not  rise  to 
the  dignity  of  history,  it  at  least  partakes  of  that 
faithfulness  of  record  and  clearness  of  detail  which 
give  history  its  value.  The  author  is  manifestly 
superior  to  that  class  of  his  countrymen  ordinarily 
found  in  the  rank  and  file  of  an  army,  in  intelligence, 
in  education-,  in  observation,  in  descriptive  and  nar 
rative  power,  and  in  candor  and  liberality  of  senti 
ment.  Something  of  foreign  misapprehension,  pos 
sibly  some  degree  of  foreign  preference  or  prejudice, 
may  be  found  in  his  pages  ;  and  it  is  by  no  means 
improbable  that  some  of  his  criticisms  upon  men  and 
events  may  be  unjust ;  but  there  is  throughout  the 
volume  an  evident  desire  to  be  just  as  well  as  inde 
pendent,  both  in  criticism  and  in  narration. 

The  publishers  confidently  express  the  opinion,  in 
which  they  are  confirmed  by  the  verdict  of  the  lite 
rary  gentlemen  to  whom  the  work  has  been  submitted 


PREFACE.  VU 

for  supervision,  not  only  that  nothing  has  yet  issued 
from  the  American  press  that  gives  so  intelligent  and 
lively  a  description  of  the  actualities  of  the  war  in 
Mexico,  but  that  no  work  is  extant  in  the  English 
language,  which  presents  so  interesting  a  picture  of  a 
soldier's  life — his  round  of  conversation,  his  employ 
ments,  his  toils,  dangers,  and  escapes — what  he  sees 
and  does,  and  how  he  does  it — as  this  autobiography. 
The  reader  will  find  it  difficult  to  part  company  with 
the  author.  There  is  no  "  fine  writing"  to  pall  upon 
the  taste.  Everything  is  told  naturally,  and  every 
thing  is  described  earnestly.  The  style  is  nervous 
yet  chaste,  and  free  from  the  coarseness  which  too 
often  disfigures  a  soldier's  narrative.  Yet  there  is 
no  sentimentality.  The  manliness  of  the  true  soldier 
is  apparent  on  every  page.  The  charm  of  the  work 
is  in  the  impressive  distinctness  of  every  picture  of 
place  or  incident.  The  reader  will  feel  as  though  he 
accompanied  the  hardy  soldier  from  the  moment  of 
his  enlistment  to  that  of  his  discharge  ;  messing  with 
him  on  Governor's  Island,  marching  with  him  to 
join  the  forces  under  General  Scott,  sleeping  with 
him  on  the  mountain  side,  where  the  bed  is  made 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

softer  by  putting  aside  some  of  the  larger  stones,  cir- 
cuitously  approaching  the  scene  of  action,  exchanging 
a  repartee  or  a  word  of  encouragement  with  a  com-,, 
rade,  mingling  in  the  melee,  and  finally  entering  the 
city  of  Mexico  in  triumph,  and  realizing  all  the  pecu 
liarities  of  its  buildings  and  its  people.  So  vividly 
is  every  scene  painted  that  a  stranger,  with  the 
volume  as  his  guide,  might  trace  the  entire  route  of 
the  American  army  through  Mexico,  locate  every 

bivouac,  and  comprehend  every  manoeuvre  or  military 

i 
movement.     The  publishers   feel   assured   that   this 

commendation  of  the  volume  will  be  verified  by  every 
intelligent  reader  of  its  pages. 


Cntthttts. 


Page 

CHAPTER    I. 

I  arrive  in  New  York,  and  make  several  strange  acquaint, 
ances, -9 


CHAPTER    II. 
My  first  experience  as  an  American  soldier,  and  attendance 

at  military  punishment,      -------         17 


CHAPTER    III. 

Embarkation  at  the  Battery — Yankee  opinion  of  Soldiers — 
Fort  Adams — New  comrades — Defects  of  organization — 
Routine  of  duties — Life  in  quarters 30 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Departure  from  Fort  Adams — Providence — Robbing  the  Or 
chard — Boston — Life  in  a  Transport — The  Captain  and  the 
Nigger*" 42 

CHAPTER   V. 
Hie  Soldier  at  Sea, -        51 


a  CONTENTS. 

Page 
CHAPTER    VI. 

VA  Modern  Soldier  of  Fortune,  *      -        - .       -        -        -        -        66 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Lapd  in  Sight — Pensacola  Bay — Fort  Pickens — Rough  Lodg 
ing — Smuggling  Whiskey — A  Carouse,  86 

CHAPTER    VIII. 
The  Surprise— Doctor  Brown — Fishing  at  Pensacola — Bathers 

and  Sharks,- 92 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Tampa  Bay — 'Indian  Paradise — Beautiful  Squaws — Forest  Life 
— The  Harairocks — 'Snakes — Rumours  of  War — Lost  in  the 
Wood,  100 

CHAPTER    X. 
General  Seoib — The  Coast  of  Mexico— A  jolly  Captain — A 

Gale  of  Wiiac! — The  River — Tampico,          -        -        -  121 

CHAPTER    XI. 
The   Town   ana    tts    Population — Reinforcements — General 

Shields — Bill  jvutt  as  Orderly — Expedition  to  Vera  Cruz,  -       137 

CHAPTER    XII. 
Sacrificios — The  debarkation — A  bivouac — A  night  alarm,     -       145 

CHAPTER     XIII. 
General   Scott — The   Shell — Naval  sporting — Investment  of 

Vera  Cruz — Vergara— -Spoiling  the  knapsacks,  -         -         -       152 

CHAPTER    XIV. 
A  prophecy  fulfilled — The  bombardment — Visit  to  Vera  Cruz,       162 


CONTEXTS.  XI 

Page 
Crf AFTER    XV. 

Sickness — March  on  Jalapa — Position  "of  the  enemy — Order 

to  attack — The  counter-order  and  its  e fleet,        ...       161 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Arrival  of  General  Scott — Ascent  of  the  ravine — The  charge 
— The  loan  of  a  pipe — Colonel  Ilarney — General  Pillow- 
Bill  Crawford— Victory, 1*77 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

After   the   battle — The    wounded — Mexican    surgeons — The 

litter  of  dead — An  unexpected  regale,        -        -         -        -       190 


CHAPTER     XVIII. 

santa  Anna's  leg — Distribution  of  spirits — Colonel  Childs — 
Interring  the  dead — March  to  Jalapa,          -         -        -         -       197 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

Santa  Anna's  house — Aspect  of  the  country — The  ladies  of 
Jalapa — A  Mexican  funeral — Description  of  the  city — The 
priesthood — Procession  of  the  Host — Paying  the  troops,  -  203 


CHAPTER     XX. 

Departure  from  Jalapa — Deserters — On  the  march — Captain 

Walker — Perote — Tepe  Agualco — Puebla,          -'       -        -       215 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

Puebla — Convents  and  Public  Buildings — Xewspaper  Gene 
rals — An  Indian  City — San  Martin — Valley  of  Mexico,        -       231 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

San   Augustine — Reconnoissance — Guard-house    luxuries — A 

convivial  party — An  unexpected  interruption,    -         -         -       239 


XU  CONTENTS. 

Pag* 
CHAPTER    XXIII. 

The  Field  of  Battle — King's  Mill — The  Execution— The  Pur 
suit,  249 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

Ravages  of  "War — Entry  into  San  Cosmo — Character  of  the 
Population — Markets — The  cemetery,         ....       265 

CHAPTER    XXY. 
Conclusion,    --.---....      281 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


ENGLISH  SOLDIER  IN  THE  U,  S,  ARMY, 


CHAPTER  I. 

1  arrive  in  New  York,  and  make  several  strange  acquaintances. 

I  LEFT  home  for  the  United  States  in  the  summer  of  1845, 
for  the  same  reason-  that  yearly  sends  so  many  thousands 
there,  want  of  employment.  I  had  both  read  and  heard  a 
good  deal  about  America,  and  knew  that  money  could  not 
be  picked  up  in  the  streets  there,  any  more  than  at  home  ;  but 
I  was  scarcely  prepared  to  find  the  scramble  for  the  means  of 
living  so  fierce  and  incessant,  as  I  found  it  in  New  York. 

Being  a  handloom  weaver,  I  called  on  several  persons  be 
longing  to  that  business,  and  from  the  same  town  as  myself, 
Paisley,  in  the  west  of  Scotland.  They  told  me  they  had  to 
work  very  hard  to  earn  three  dollars  and  a  half,  or  at  most, 
four  dollars  a  week ;  while  loom  rent  and  other  expenses, 
with  loss  of  time,  changing  and  putting  in  new  sorts  of  work, 
reduced  their  wages  to  an  average  of  less  than  three  dollars, 
or  about  twelve  shillings  a  week.  There  were  some  weavers 
in  carpet  factories  in  Philadelphia  they  told  me,  and  also  a 
few  in  New  York,  who  earned  five  or  six  dollars  a  week  ;  but 
only  a  few  could  find  employment  at  these  places,  which 


10  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

were  also  subject  to  periods  of  stagnation  of  business,  when 
the  3ost  of  living  soon  exhausted  the  savings  of  those  who 
were  provident  enough  to  save  a  little  for  a  rainy  day.  They 
generally,  while  informing  me  of  plenty  of  places  where  I 
might  find  employment  at  weaving,  such  as  it  was,  advised 
me  to  try  and  find  employment  as  a  labourer  in  preference  ; 
which  some  of  them  declared  their  intention  of  doing  as 
soon  as  they  had  finished  their  engagements. 

While  walking  along  the  wharfs  at  the  East  Paver  one 
morning,  my  attention  was  arrested  by  a  placard  above  one 
of  the  shops  which  front  Brooklyn,  stating,  in  the  usual 
Brobdignagian  typography  of  these  announcements,  that  one 
hundred  able-bodied  men  were  wanted  for  whaling.  Appli 
cants  \vere  directed  to  walk  up  stairs.  With  a  vague  idea 
that  possibly  a  South  Sea  voyage  might  answer  my  peculiar 
situation,  I  walked  up  and  presented  myself  to  a  man  whom 
I  found  sitting  at  a  desk  in  a  large  room,  barely  furnished, 
and  very  dirty.  I  asked  him  if  he  could  inform  me  as  to  the 
terms  of  engagement.  "I  can't  do  anything  else,"  he  re 
plied,  as  he  got  up  from  his  desk,  and  coming  close  up  to 
me,  asked  if  I  meant  to  join  the  money-making  business  of 
whaling.  He  was  a  small  cadaverous  looking  being,  with 
sandy  hair,  sallow  complexion,  and  red  eyes  that  glittered  like 
a  ferret's,  as  you  caught  an  occasional  glimpse  of  them  from 
behind  a  pair  of  green  spectacles.  I  told  him  in  reply,  thai 
I  was  out  of  employment,  and  not  particularly  nice  as  to 
what  I  tried,  if  I  were  able  for  it,  and  it  promised  tolerable 
pay.  "  Ah  !"  said  he,  "  Stranger,  I  guess  you  are  in  a  par 
ticular  all  fir'd  streak  ot  good  luck  ;  we  are  nearly  filled  up, 
that  is  a  fact,  but  if  you  are  in  good  health — let  me  just  look 
at  your  arm,"  he  continued,  as  he  seized  hold  of  one,  feeling 
it  up  to  the  shoulder  for  the  purpose  ©f  testing  its  muscular 
condition.  Being  satisfied  with  his  examination,  apparently, 


THE    BRIGHT    SIDE    OF    WHALING.  11 

he  asked  me  if  I  was  an  American  citizen.  I  told  him  I  was 
not,  having  only  arrived  in  the  country  a  few  weeks  before. 
"  That  is  no  matter,"  said  he,  winking  one  of  the  ferret  eyes, 
"  I  can  fix  that  right  away."  He  then  congratulated  me 
upon  being  in  a  fair  way  to  make  my  fortune,  and  informed 
me  that  the  men  employed  in  whaling  were  paid  by  shares, 
which  they  called  lays,  and  that  their  wages  were  propor 
tionate  to  their  luck.  He  had  known  a  young  man  have 
eight  hundred,  or  a  thousand  dollars  for  his  share,  or  lay,  in 
»  voyage  that  did  not  last  over  eighteen  months.  A  whale 
ship  would  have  very  bad  luck  if  the  men  aboard  of  her  did 
not  clear  three  or  four  hundred  dollars  a  year.  Bad  health 
alone,  he  said,  had  prevented  him  from  going  a  voyage  or 
two ;  and  so  he  went  on  with  a  great  deal  more  to  the  same 
effect,  most  of  which  I  thought  too  good  to  be  true.  Thank 
ing  him,  however,  for  his  information,  and  promising  to  call 
again  after  thinking  the  matter  over,  I  left  the  office.  I  can't 
deny  that  his  statements  made  a  considerable  impression  on 
me  at  the  time,  though  of  course  I  believed  that  he  greatly 
exaggerated.  Still  it  is  probable  that  I  would  have  doubled 
Cape  Horn  in  one  of  these  whalers,  perhaps  touching  at 
Xukuheva,  and  a  few  of  the  islands  in  that  vicinity,  and  real 
izing  some  of  those  scenes  of  enchantment  of  which  the 
inimitable  Herman  Melville  has  given  such  charming  and 
graphical  descriptions  in  his  Typee  and  Omoo,  but  for  the 
following  incident. 

Going  down  the  steps  from  the  office,  I  met  in  the  street 
one  of  the  sailors- of  the  ship  in  which  I  had  arrived,  a  fine 
old  fellow  with  whom  I  had  often  had  JK  chat  during  the  pas 
sage.  After  the  usual  salutations,  he  asked  me  if  I  would 
help  him  to  "  splice  the  main  brace,"  the  nautical  phrase  for 
taking  a  glass  of  grog.  I  assented,  and  while  taking  a  glass 
and  a  cigar  together,  he  confidentially  informed  me  that  he  had 


12  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIEtt    IN    MEXICO. 

considered  me  a  Christian  ever  since  the  fourth  of  July.  My 
claim  to  this  high  character,  which  the  old  fellow  I  suppose 
considered  perfectly  valid,  rested  on  the  following  rather  slen 
der  foundation  : — The  night  preceding  the  fourth  of  July  had 
been  wet  and  stormy,  the  wind  blowing  a  pretty  stiff  gale.  In 
the  morning,  the  crew  having  been  on  deck  all  night,  were 
tired,  cold,  and  wet ;  and  the  vessel  being  on  the  temperance 
principle,  they  had  no  grog,  at  which  they  grumbled  sadly, 
The  sailors  were  mostly  Americans,  and  the  fourth  of  July,  the 
anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  being'  held 
as  a  day  of  jubilee  and  general  festivity  in  the  States,  the 
contrast  suggested  to  their  minds  by  their  present  condition, 
made  them  feel  the  deprivation  more  acutely.  I  had  brought 
a  small  stock  of  whiskey  with  me,  and  not  requiring  it  for 
my  own  use,  I  served  out  an  allowance  to  each  man ;  thus 
cheaply  earning  the  reputation  of  a  Christian.  He  proceeded 
to  acquaint  me  with  his  having  "shipped"  in  a  vessel  which 
was  to  sail  in  a  few  days  for  the  East  Indies.  lie  had  drawn 
a  month's  pay  in  advance,  for  the  purpose  of  having  a  spree, 
as  he  was  going  on  a  long  voyage.  "  Look  here,  matey,"  said 
he,  "  I  have  a  few  of  the  shiners  left  yet,"  and  pulling  a  hand 
ful  of  silver  from  his  pocket,  he  insisted  that  I  should  take 
part  of  it.  I  thanked  him  for  his  offer, -which  I  said  I  would 
cheerfully  accept  if  I  required  it.  "  Avast  there,  mate,"  said 
he,  "  did  I  not  see  you  coming  out  of  a  land-shark's  office 
there  on  the  wharf?"  I  acknowledged  having  gone  into  an 
office  there,  telling  the  object  of  my  visit,  and  repeated  part 
of  the  statements  made  by  the  shipping  agent.  u  I  thought 
so,"  said  Jack,  with  a  sneer,  "  but  listen  to  me,  lad,"  He  then 
gave  me  a  history  of  his  own  experience  on  board  a  whaler, 
with  a  number  of  anecdotes  gathered  from  different  mess 
mates,  all  tending  to  show  that  it  was  a  life  of  great  hardship, 
with  very  poor  wages.  He  strongly  advised  me  to  look  for 


INDUCEMENTS    TO    RECRUITS.  13 

some  other  sort  of  employment,  and  as  to  sharing  his  money, 
if  I  didn't  it  was  all  the  same,  he  could  pitch  it  into  the  river  ; 
lie  never  carried  any  money  on  board  with  him  when  going 
on  a  long  voyage.  As  I  was  not  greatly  above  the  want  of 
a  little  pecuniary  assistance,  though  not  quite  destitute  of 
resources,  having  a  good  suit  of  clothes,  and  other  articles 
easily  convertible  into  money  at  my  lodgings,  I  accepted  a 
dollar  from  him  as  a  loan.  I  did  this  the  more  readily,  as  I 
saw  he  would  be  grievously  offended  should  I  persist  in  re 
fusing  his  kind  offer.  "Ay,  ay,"  said  the  honest  and  warm 
hearted  old  fellow,  as  we  shook  hands  at  parting,  "  you  and 
I  may  happen  to  me^t  some  other  time,  when  your  luck's 
better  than  mine.  If  we  don't,  and  you  should  ever  see  a 
messmate  on  his  beam  ends,  give  him  a  lift,  God  bless  you, 
and  it  will  do  all  the  same." 

My  interview  with  this  honest  fellow  having  dissipated 
any  idea  I  had  previously  entertained  of  going  to  sea  in  a 
whaler,  I  strolled  about  for  the  remainder  of  the  day,  medi 
tating  on  my  future  prospects,  which  presented  a  rather 
cheerless  aspect  at  this  juncture.  /^Having  served  for  a  con 
siderable  time  in  the  English  army,  from  which  I  had 
purchased  my  discharge  about  five  years  previously,  I  finally 
resolved,  as  a  sort  of  last  resource,  to  try  five  years  in  the 
American  service.  *  The  bills  advertising  for  recruits,  stated, 
that  a  few  enterprising  young  men,  of  good  character,  were 
wanted  for  the  service  of  the  United  States ;  and  promised 
good  treatment,  as  far  as  physical  comfort  was  concerned, 
being  somewhat  to  the  following  effect : — That  soldiers  of 
the  United  States'  service  were  provided  with  good  quarters^ 
an  ample  sufficiency  of  good  and  wholesome  diet,  an  abun 
dant  supply  of  clothing,  and  in  case  of  sickness,  the  most 
careful  attendance,  and  the  most  skilful  medical  aid.  The 
statement  concluded  with  the  amount  of  money  which  could 


14  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

be  saved  by  sergeant,  corporal,  or  private,  during  tlu-ir 
period  of  five  years'  service,  varying  from  four  to  seven 
hundred  dollars. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  August,  1845,  that  I  called 
at  the  recruiting  office  in  Cedar  street,  for  the  purpose  of 
enlisting.  The  sergeant  in  charge  of  the  establishment, 
having  asked  me  if  I  had  been  in  the  British  service,  to 
which  I  replied  in  the  affirmative,  said  in  that  case  he  was 
afraid  they  could  not  enlist,  me,  as  they  had  lately  received 
an  order  from  Washington  to  that  effect ;  deserters  from  t'he 
British  service  having  generally  turned  out  bad  soldiers.  As 
I  saw  he  was  under  the  impression  that  1  was  a  deserter,  I 
explained  that  I  had  purchased  my  discharge,  which  I  could 
produce  if  required.  This,  he  said,  altered  the  case  ;  he  was 
going  to  the  recruiting  officer's  quarters,  and  if  I  had  no  objec 
tion  he  would  take  me  along  with  him.  I  went  with  him,  and 
was  soon  ushered  into  the  presence  of  Lieutenant  Burke,  a  tali 
handsome  man,  with  fine  expressive  dark  eyes,  and  large  black 
whiskers,  but  a  rather  melancholy  cast  of  countenance.  He 
became  Captain  Burke  soon  after,  in  consequence  of  the  war 
in  Mexico,  which  caused  considerable  promotion  among  the 
officers  for  some  time;  but  he  did  not  live  to  enjoy  it,  being 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Churubusco,  outside  of  the  city  of 
Mexico,  in  August,  1847,  about  two  years  after  my  enlistment. 
After  asking  me  a  few  questions,  he  said  he  would  be  glad  to 
have  me  if  I  passed  the  surgeon's  examination,  and  could 
procure  a  document  to  show  that  I  had  been  discharged 
from  the  British  service.  I  accordingly  went  to  my  lodgings, 
and  returned  with  my  certificate  of  discharge,  which  ho 
slightly  glanced  over,  and  remarking  that  it  was  quite  satis 
factory,  directed  the  sergeant  to  go  with  me  to  the  inspecting 
surgeon.  I  then  underwent  an  examination  similar  to  that 
which  recruits  undergo  when  enlisted  in  the  British  service, 


GOVERNOR'S  ISLAND.  15 

and  immediately  after,  went  with  the  sergeant  to  the  office 
of  a  magistrate,  and  took  the  usual  oath  of  allegiance. 

Being  a  soldier  once  more,  and  desirous  of  ascertaining 
the  actual  condition  of  one  in  the  American  service  as  soon 
as  possible,  I  asked  the  sergeant  when  it  would  be  requisite 
for  me  to  be  really  to  go  over  to  Governor's  Island.  This 
is  a  small  island  in  the  Manhattan  Bay,  where  recruits  are 
stationed  until  sent  to  join  their  respective  regiments.  It  is 
rather  more  than  a -mile  in  circumference,  and  about  a  mile 
from  the  battery.  The  sergeant,  who  seemed  a  civil  fellow, 
said  that  I  might  either  go  over  in  the  garrison  boat  at  sun 
set  that  evening,  or  if  I  had  anything  to  arrange  in  Xew 
York,  I  might  defer  going  over  until  next  evening.  lie 
advised  me  to  sell  my  clothes,  and  purchase  old  ones  in 
ISew  York,  as  I  would  get  almost  nothing  for  good  clothes 
in  the  island,  and  would  have  no  opportunity  of  coming  over 
to  sell  them,  as  recruits  after  landing  never  obtained  per 
mission  to  leave  the  island  until  sent  to  join  their  regi 
ments.  I  followed  his  advice  with  regard  to  the  clothes,  for 
which  a  purchaser  was  easily  found,  replacing  them  with  a 
light  linen  jacket,  and  chip  hat,  which  cost  a  mere  trifle,  but 
were  good  enough  to  throw  away  in  a  day  or  two,  when  I 
should  put  on  soldier's  uniform,  I  also  sold  my  trunk,  and 
a  few  other  articles  which,  as  a  soldier,  I  had  neither  much 
use  for,  nor  convenient  means  of  carrying ;  and  being  desirous 
of  going  over  the  same  evening,  I  then  returned  to  the 
recruiting  office. 

At  sunset  the  sergeant  accompanied  me  and  two  other 
recruits  down  to  the  boat,  which  lay  in  front  of  Castle 
Garden.  The  garrison  boat  was  a  large,  handsome,  and 
neatly  painted  cutter,  rowed  by  six  soldiers,  with  a  corporal 
acting  as  coxswain.  Seated  in  the  stern  of  the  boat  were  a 
couple  of  young  officers  smoking  cigars.  They  were  proba- 


16  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

bly  chagrined  at  having  been  detained  a  minute  or  two 
while  we  were  coming  down,  for  one  of  them  called  out  in  a 
petulant  tone  to  us,  to  jump  in  and  be  damned.  I  looked 
with  a  little  surprise  at  the  would-be  aristocrat  specimen  of 
equal  rights  who  had  spoken,  and  could  perceive  that  he  had 
the  apology  of  youth  and  inexperience,  being  little  more 
than  a  boy.  One  of  the  recruits  muttered  loud  enough  to 
be  heard  by  the  gentleman,  who  stared  and  coloured,  but 
perhaps  thought  it  prudent  to  decline  a  reply,  "  Faith  and 
there's  many  a  strong  word  comes  off  a  weak  stomach." 

The  evening  was  delightful,  and  in  a  few  minutes  we  were 
landed  on  the  wharf  at  Governor's  Island.  The  other  two 
recruits  and  myself  were  shown  to  a  tent,  where  we  were  to 
sleep  for  the  night.  We  found  that  it  contained  only  two 
straw  mattresses,  and  two  blankets,  but  as  the  weather  was 
very  warm,  we  slept  that  night  very  comfortably. 


CHAPTER  II. 

My  first  experience  as  an  American  soldier,  and  attendance  at  mili 
tary  punishment. 

WE  were  roused  next  morning  by  the  reveille,  which  is 
always  beat  a  little  before  sunrise.  Having  got  up  with  the 
assistance  of  a  good-natured  recruit  who  happened  to  look 
into  our  tent,  we  rolled  up  our  mattresses,  and  folded  the 
blankets  according  to  regulation,  and  then,  falling  into  the 
ranks  formed  in  front  of  the  tents,  we  answered  to  our  names 
as  they  were  called  by  the  sergeant  who  had  charge  of  us. 
All  hands  were  then  distributed  in  separate  parties,  each 
party  in  charge  of  a  corporal,  to  "  police"  or  clean  round  the 
garrison.  A  portion  of  this  duty,  at  which  the  recruits 
grumbled  loudly,  and  which  I  soon  learned  was  one  of  seve 
ral  standing  grievances  of  which  they  complained,  was  being 
sent  to  the  barrack-square,  where  a  company,  called  the  per 
manent  company,  were  stationed.  As  the  recruits  lay  in 
tents  outside,  and  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  bar 
racks,  they  naturally  felt  indignant  at  the  unjust  degradation 
to  which  they  were  subjected,  in  being  compelled  every 
morning  to  act  as  a  scavenging  commission  for  the  perma 
nent  company.  The  refusal  to  obey  orders,  caused  by  this 
foolish  regulation,  was  the  means  of  many  of  the  recruits 
being  confined  in  the  guard-house  while  I  was  on  the  island. 
At  six  o'clock  we  were  assembled  and  formed  into  squads  for 
drill ;  we  were  then  drilled  until  seven,  when  we  were  dis 
missed. 


18  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

At  half-past  seven  o'clock,  at  beat  of  drum,  we  again  fell 
into  the  ranks,  having  our  leathern  stocks  on,  and  jackets 
buttoned  up  to  the  collar.  The  roll  was  again  called,  after 
which  we  were  inarched  to  the  cook-house  to  breakfast.  It 
is  a  rule  in  the  American  service  that  soldiers  shall  breakfast, 
dine,  and  sup  in  the  cook-house,  a  very  absurd  and  inconve 
nient  regulation,  for  which  I  never  heard  any  satisfactory 
"reason  assigned.  Our  breakfast  consisted  of  six  ounces  of 
bread,  a  slice  of  salt  pork,  and  a  pint  of  Aveak  unpalatable 
coffee,  totally  innocent  of  the  useless  extravagance  of  milk, 
instead  of  which  we  were  permitted  to  season  our  sumptuous 
fare  with  vinegar 'at  discretion,  a  large  black  bottle  full  of 
that  condiment  being  placed  at  each  end  of  the  table. 

Before  commencing,  and  as  I  was  about  to  sit  down  to  my 
first  breakfast  on  Governor's  Island,  a  recruit,  Sawney,  belong 
ing  to  New  York,  one  of  the  "bhoys,"  as  they  delight  in 
being- called,  and  a  recognised  and  privileged  wit  among  the 
recruits,  volunteered  to  ask  a  blessing.  It  was  evidently  a 
preconcerted  arrangement  with  several  of  his  influential 
friends,  who  used  all  their  address,  and  a  considerable  degree 
of  exertion  to  obtain  silence.  Having  finally  succeeded, 
Sawney  rose  with  a  face  of  the  utmost  gravity,  and  com 
menced  a  profane  and  irreverent  parody.  He  concluded  bv 

d g  all  those  infernal  scoundrels  who  rob  poor  soldiers  of 

their  rations  ;  amen.  "  Sawney,  get  up,  and  go  to  the  guard 
house,"  said  a  sergeant  who  entered  as  he  sat  down,  after 
finishing  this  singular  grace.  "  Ay,  ay,"  grumbled  Sawney, 
"  I  expected  as  much ;  I  said  how  it  would  be.  If  a  poor 
devil  wants  to  be  ever  so  religious,  it's  no  use  a  trying  of  it 
here.  I  suppose  that's  what  you  call  liberty  of  conscience  in 
this  blessed  free  republic  of  ours.  Hang  me  if  it  is  not 
enough  to  make  a  man  curse  Washington,  or  his  old  grand 
mother  even."  So  saying,  and  swallowing  his  indignation 


CLOTHING,    INSPECTION,    AND    DRILL.  19 

along  with  a  gulp  of  the  wretched  coffee,  and  taking  his 
bread  in  his  hand,  amidst  the  sympathy  of  his  admiring 
friends,  he  walked  off  to  the  Guard  House,  muttering  curses, 
not  loud  but  deep. 

After  breakfast,  the  sergeant  in  charge  of  the  recruits  took 
me  and  the  two  others  who  came  over  on  the  previous  even 
ing  to  the  clothing  store,  where  each  received  the  following 
articles  of  clothing.  A  forage  cap,  leather  stock,  jacket,  and 
trousers  of  coarse  blue  cloth,  two  cotton  shirts,  two  pairs  of 
socks,  one  pair  of  half  boots,  a  blanket,  a  great-coat,  a  knap 
sack,  and  a  Imvresack.  Having  brushed  our  clothes,  cleaned 
the  metal  buttons  of  our  jackets,  and  polished  our  boots,  at 
10  o'clock,  we  again  fell  into  the  ranks  for  inspection  and 
drill.  After  a  minute  inspection  by  the  officer  who  had  us 
in  charge,  to  see  that  we  were  smart  and  clean  in  our  appear 
ance,  we  were  formed  into  a  number  of  separate  squads  for 
drill ;  those  who  had  joined  earliest,  and  consequently  were 
the  most  forward  with  their  drill,  being  placed  in  the  first 
squad,  and  so  on  in  succession.  The  other  two  recruits, 
Murphy  and  Finnegan,  and  myself,  were  turned  over  to  a 
corporal  named  Bright,  to  be  taught  the  preliminary  steps  of 
a  soldier's  drill,  as  "the  position  of  a  soldier,"  or  the  manner 
in  \vhich  a  soldier  should  stand  in  the  ranks;  "the  facings," 
or  mode  of  turning  on  the  heels  to  the  right  or  left,  with 
slow  marching,  and  a  few  of  those  things  which  usually  com 
mence  the  course  of  instruction  with  recruits. 

Corporal  Bright,  who  was  an  Irishman  by  birth,  was  a 
United  States  soldier  by  profession,  and  long  custom.  He 
had  served  three  enlistments,  and  entered  on  the  fourth.  He 
was  a  stout,  punchy,  little  fellow,  rather  round-shouldered, 
slightly  bowlegGfed,  nose  carbuncled,  and  portending  an  addic 
tion  to  strong  potations.  In  addition,  he  had  a  very  decided 
squint  from  a  pair  of  dull,  grey,  and  glassy-looking  orbs, 


20  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IJT   MEXICO. 

which,  as  Finnegan  when  criticising  his  personal  appearance 
remarked,  "stuck  out  of  the  crathur's  head  like  the  eyes  of 
a  boiled  cod  fish."  Notwithstanding  these  slight  drawbacks, 
Corporal  Bright  Lad  an  idea  that  he  was  a  very  handsome 
and  well-made  man,  and  on  this  account  became  the  uncon 
scious  butt  of  all  the  recruits  he  got  to  drill.  "  Murphy,  arrali 
bad  luck  to  you  for  an  awkward-looking  omadhaun,"  ha  would, 
call  out,  "  can't  you  hold  up  your  big  head,  and  look  mo 
straight  in  the  eyes  ?"  (Murphy  aside) — "  Be  the  hokev,  my 
bright-looking  customer,  and  that's  what  I  defy  'mortial  man 
to  do."  Corporal  Bright  (inarching  in  front),  ."  Look  at  me 
now  Murphy,  and'yourself  too  Finnegan  ;  there  now,  do  yez 
iver  see  me  duck  my  head  like  a  gandher  going  under  a  gate 
or  bent  two  double  like  some  old  Judy  going  to  a  wake  2" 
Finnegan  (aside) — "  Faith,  an  it's  a  Judy  you  make  of  yourself, 
sure  enough,  you  consated  crathur."  Corporal  Bright  (ad 
dressing  his  squad),  "  Be  my  sowl,  I'm  ashamed  of  yez  for 
counthrymen  ;  stand  at  ease  ;  I'll  just  march  a  few  paces  in 
front  now  to  show  yez  how  yez  ought  to  march ;  now  if  yez 
plase  will  yez  take  a  patthern."  So  saying,  he  would  step 
oft',  and  march  twenty  or  thirty  paces  to  the  front,  with  such 
a  ludicrous  imitation  of  the  beau  ideal  graceful  ease,  and  dig 
nified  carriage  of  body  which  he  recommended,  as  to  some 
times  prove  rather  too  much  for  the  gravity  of  his  pupils. 
These  performances  he  would  intersperse  with  a  few  instruc 
tions,  and  self-laudatory  remarks,  such  as,  "  There  now,  do 
yez  persaive  the  difference,  can't  yez  carry  yer  shoulders 
back,  yer  heads  ereck,  and  march  as  you  persaive  I  do,  as 
bould  as  a  lion,  and  as  straight  as  a  ramrod."  Finnegan 
(aside) — "Arrali,  look  at  the  gommagh,  with  the  airs  and 
consate  of  him,  marching  in  front  there  as  bould  as  Julius 
Caesar ;  sure  it's  a  holy  show  the  unfortunate  crather  makes 
ov  himself  with  his  *  straight  as  a  ramrod  ;'  faith,  the  ramrod 


GARRISON    LIFE.  21 

that's  no  straighter  than  you,  would  do  to  load  the  gun  that 
shoots  round  the  corner.  Murphy  (aside-  in  reply),  "  Faix, 
but  it's  the  beautiful  cook  they  spoiled,  when  they  made  the 
same  fellow  a  corporal ;  he  could  have  one  eye  up  the  chim 
ney,  and  the  other  in  the  pot  at  the  same  time."  Such  is  a 
faint  sketch  of  Corporal  Bright  and  his  squad  of  recruits,  on 
the  drill  ground  at  Governor's  Island. 

Having  been  well  drilled  while  serving  in  the  British 
army,  I  found  no  difficulty  in  acquiring  my  drill  on  the 
island,  the  systems  of  English  and  American  drill  being 
essentially  the  same.  I  therefore  escaped  a  good  deal  of 
that  annoyance  to  which  recruits  are  often  subject,  upon 
first  joining  the  army,  and  which  frequently  proceeds  from 
the  ignorance  or  bad  temper  of  the  non-commissioned  officer 
appointed  to  drill  them.  The  proper  combination  of  intelli 
gence,  firmness,  and  mildness  of  manner,  requisite  to  form  a 
good  drill  instructor,  is  of  rare  occurrence,  and  owing  to  this 
cause,  many  a  young  and  high  spirited  recruit,  discouraged 
and  fretted  by  the  bullying  and  blustering  tone  of  those  who 
ought  to  be  his  patient  instructors,  is  tempted  to  desert  the 
service,  when,  with  proper  treatment,  he  might  have  been 
made  a  good  and  efficient  soldier. 

At  half-past  eleven  o'clock  the  squads  were  dismissed, 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  recruits  who  possessed  money, 
or  had  credit  at  the  sutler's  store,  went  over  to  it  to  buy 
crackers  and  cheese,  pies  and  other  eatables,  and  to  drink 
cider,  ginger,  and  root  beer,  all  of  which  articles,  with 
tobacco,  and  several  other  necessaries,  were  sold  there  at  the 
slight  advance  of  100  per  cent,  upon  the  price  at  which 
similar  commodities  could  be  purchased  in  New  York. 

The  sutler's  store  is  a  shop  kept  in  every  garrison,  and  is 
somewhat  similar  to  a  canteen  in  the  British  service,  only 
the  sutler's  stores  are  prohibited  from  selling  spirits.  Re- 


22  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

emits,  on  arriving  at  the  island,  were  allowed  credit  in 
the  sutler's  store  to  the  amount  of  two  dollars,  which  sum, 
or  the  amount  taken  by  the  recruit,  was  remitted  by  the 
captain  of  his  company  on  the  first  pay-day  after  he  joined 
his  regiment.  Those  recruits  who  had  exhausted  their 
credit  at  the  store,  either  went  to  their  tents,  or  lay  stretched 
on  the  grass,  under  the  fine  shady  trees  that  ornamented  the 
parade  ground,  reading,  dozing,  or  smoking,  and  chatting, 
according  to  theii  various  inclinations. 

At  twelve  o'clock  the  dinner  call  beat,  a  fifer  and  drum 
mer  playing  the  regulation  tune,  "  0  the  Roast  Beef  of  Old 
England.'1  We  again  fell  into  the  ranks,  buttoned  up  as  at 
breakfast  roll-call,  and  having  answered  our  names  were 
marched  to  the  cook-house  to  dinner.  This  meal  consisted 
of  six  ounces  of  bread,  a  slice  of  salt  pork,  and  a  basin 
of  bean  soup.  This  compound  was  very  salt,  and  very  fat, 
and  contained  a  quantity  of  half-boiled  beans.  I  have 
seen  some  strange  and  rather  uninviting  dishes,  both  before 
and  since,  but  never  anything  so  utterly  unpalatable  as  the 
bean-soup  of  Governor's  Island.  A  few  of  the  more 
verdant  of  the  recruits  occasionally  swallowed  a  portion 
of  it,  under  the  false  impression  that  it  was  a  species 
of  military  soup,  which  might  possess  some  hidden  nutri 
tious  virtues,  though  so  singularly  uninviting  in  taste  and 
appearance.  For  this  venial  error,  however,  they  were 
pretty  sure  to  suffer  a  moderate  degree  of  penance,  until  led 
by  experience  to  see  their  mistake.  The  old  and  more 
experienced  hands,  usually  preferred  to  wash  down  their  dry 
victuals  with  a  drink  of  water,  so  that  the  quantity  of 
Spartan  broth,  and  salt  pork,  daily  left  on  the  dinner  table 
of  the  recruits,  was  quite  enormous,  a  fact  easily  cited  to 
refute  any  complaint  of  an  insufficient  dietary. 

At   three   o'clock  we   again   fell  in  for  drill,  and   were 


A    STANDINU    GRIEVANCE.  23 

dismissed  at  half-past  four ;  and  at  five  o'clock  we  wero 
man-lied  as  be-fore  to  the  cook-house  for  supper,  which 
consisted  of  six  ounces  of  bread  and  a  pint  of  coffee.  I 
need  not  insist  upon  the  inadequacy  of  the  diet  furnished 
to  the  recruit,  both  as  regards  quantity  and  quality,  at 
( Governor's  Island,  where  a  complete  organization  seems  to 
exist,  for  the  purpose  of  robbing  the  recruit,  and  disgusting 
him  with  the  service  at  the  very  outset.  The  diet  and 
general  treatment  are  much  better  when  the  soldier  joins  his 
company ;  although  I  am  free  to  confess  that,  throughout  the 
scniee  generally,  a  very  wide  field  still  remains  for  improve 
ment.  I  am  aware  that  it  will  seem  to  many  a  thing  quite 
inn-edible,  that  in  a  country  abounding  as  America  does 
wiih  cheap  food,  a  standard  grievance  with  the  soldiers 
should  be  the  manner  in  which  they  are  fed;  it  is  a  fact 
nevertheless,  quite  notorious  to  every  soldier  who  has  ever 
served  in  the  American  army. 

'After  supper,  we  usually  had  an  interval  of  rest  until  nine 
o'clock.  "  Xow  came  in  the  sweet  of  the  night,"  while  the 
old  and  sedate  portion  of  the  recruits  strolled  along  the 
foot-walks  that  intersect,  and  surround  the  island,  or  sat  in 
small  parties  conversing  in  front  of  their  tents,  the  younger 
and  more  volatile  among  them  engaged  in  a  variety  of 
pastimes  and  amusements.  Foot-ball,  leaping,  wrestling, 
foot  racing,  leap-frog,  throwing  the  stone,  or  dancing  when 
music  could  be  procured,  were  a  few  of  the  more  prominent 
of  the  diversions  commonly  resorted  to.  Later  in  the  evening, 
after  having  answered  our  names  at  retreat,  which  was  beat 
precisely  at  sunset,  groups  assembled  round  the  tent  doors, 
to  smoke,  chat,  tell  tales,  or  sing  songs.  Nigger  songs  or  the 
broadly  humorous,  formed  the  staple  of  these  social  enter 
tainments,  except  with  the  German  portion  of  the  recruits, 
who,  having  been  taught  to  sing  in  their  national  schools , 


24  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

had  acquired  a  more  refined  ear,  and  a  taste  for  music  of  a 
rather  superior  quality.  They  generally  arranged,  therefore, 
a  separate  party,  forming  a  very  pleasing  concert  among 
themselves,  by  singing  their  national  songs  ;  these,  when 
heard  a  little  distance  off,  on  a  still  evening,  had  a  very 
beautiful  and  harmonious  effect.  At  nine  o'clock  we  fell  in, 
to  answer  our  names  at  tattoo  roll-call,  when  the  drums  and 
fifes  played  a  few  merry  tunes,  after  which  the  roll  was  called 
and  we  were  then  dismissed  to  bed.  About  fifteen  minutes 
were  then  suffered  to  elapse,  when  the  drummer  beat  three 
distinct  taps  on  the  drum,  at  which  signal  every  light  in  tents 
or  quarters  had  to  be  extinguished,  and  the  most  strict 
silence  preserved,  on  pain  of  the  offender  being  sent  to  the 
guard-house — the  immediate  punishment  for  all  wrilful  infrac 
tions  of  the  rules  of  the  service.  Such  is  a  summary  of  one 
day,  and,  with  but  slight  variations,  of  every  day  of  the 
three  weeks  I  spent  on  Governor's  Island. 

I  had  been  upon  the  island  about  a  wreek,  when  a  large 
draft  of  recruits  was  ordered  to  Texas,  where  they  were  to 
join  different  regiments,  preparing  for  that  expedition  to  the 
frontier,  which  resulted  in  involving  the  United  States  in  the 
war  with  Mexico.  The  popular  feeling  in  the  United  States, 
at  that  period,  seemed  to  be  strongly  in  favor  of  a  war. 
Texas  had  just  been  annexed,  and  the  papers  teemed  with 
paragraphs  calculated  to  rouse  the  war  spirit,  dwelling  on 
the  indignities  offered  to  the  States  by  the  Mexican  Govern 
ment  ;  especially  in  refusing  to  pay  certain  indemnities 
claimed  by  American  citizens,  for  injuries  received  by  them 
from  Mexican  civil  functionaries,  in  their  trading  relations 
with  that  nation.  In  the  meantime  the  refusal  of  Mexico 
to  recognize  the  independence  of  Texas,  or  to  listen  to  any 
statement  of  American  grievances,  wdth  the  circumstance  of 
her  having  an  army  on  the  Rio  Grande,  showed  that  she 


ftSiJEsS* 

CAUSES    OF    DESERTION.  25 

was  careless  how  she  provoked  the  coming  struggle,  which 
she  probably  now  began  to  consider  inevitable ;  and  tended 
to  show  that  hostilities  would  soon  break  out  between  the 
sister  republics.  % 

I  cannot  say  how  far  the  near  prospect  of  a  war  may  have 
operated  upon  the  minds  of  recruits  to  cause  desertion,  but 
certainly  the  number  of  desertions  at  the  period  I  speak 
of  was  very  great.  This  crime  I  had  imagined  would  be 
almost  unknown,  or  of  very  rare  occurrence  in  this  army, 
where  the  period  of  service ,  was  limited  to  five  years,  and 
which  professed  to  treat  its  soldiers  so  liberally  on  all  other 
points.  But  the  practice  of  putting  all  recruits  who  join  at 
Governor's  Island  during  the  summer  months,  into  tents, 
where  they  are  roasted  as  if  in  an  oven  during  the  day,  and 
frequently  drenched  with  wet,  and  starved  with  cold  during 
the  night,  must  produce  a  degree  of  disgust  to  the  service  in 
the  mind  of  the  recruit  at  the  very  outset.  For  a  tent, 
though  excellent  accommodation  to  the  soldier  on  a  campaign 
(especially  if  one.  has  been  compelled  to  rough  it  for  a  week 
or  two  occasionally  with  the  blue  vault  or  the  black  sky  for  a 
canopy),  is  a  miserable  substitute  for  a  substantial  barracks. 
And  it  certainly  must  produce  a  rather  unpleasant  impres 
sion  on  the  recruit,  to  reflect,  that  probably  the  most  misera 
ble  loafer  in  New  York  is  in  a  more  comfortable  lodging 
than  himself.  It  is  to  this  practice,  together  with  the  con 
finement  to  the  island,  and  the  wretched  system  that  prevails 
in  regard  to  their  food,  that  much  of  the  desertion  among 
the  recruits  is  to  be  attributed.  In  fact,  throughout  the 
American  service  generally,  desertion,  though  the  only  offence 
for  which  the  disgraceful  punishment  of  flogging  is  permitted 
by  the  military  code,  is  not  looked  upon  in  the  light  of  a 
crime  by  the  soldier.  This  is  principally  owing  to  the  con 
viction  that  they  are  not  treated  justly.  No  great  amount 


26  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

of  logic  is  required  to  perceive  that  a  contract,  to  be  binding 
must  bind  both  parties ;  but  it  \voukl  take  a  good  deal  to 
convince  the  soldier,  that  he  is  bound  to  observe  an  oath 
which  he  has  taken  under  certain  implied  conditions,  which 
he  finds  are  not  observed. 

The  common  method  adopted  by  the  recruits  who  wished 
to  desert  from  Governor's  Island,  was  to  engage  a  boat  to 
come  over  in  the  night  time  to  take  them  off,  while  others 
trusted  themselves  and  their  fortunes  to  a  single  plank  in 
the  following  manner.  Watching  when  the  tide  was  setting 
into  the  harbour,  they  fastened  their  clothes  to  a  plank,  and 
by  swimming  and  holding  on  to  it  while  they  directed  its 
course,  with  the  assistance  of  it  and  the  tide,  they  easily 
reached  New  York,  or  Brooklyn.  One  morning  we  missed 
two  large  tubs  which  we  had  made  by  sawing  a  hogshead 
in  two,  and  which  always  stood  at  the  pump,  being  used  as 
washtubs  by  the  recruits,  who  were  under  the  necessity  of 
scouring  their  own  linen  on  the  island.  Many  and  various 
were  the  conjectures  as  to  the  missing  utensils,  until  some 
one  suggested  the  probability  of  their  having  been  used  to 
ferry  over  the  two  recruits  who  were  reported  absent  that 
morning.  This  surmise  was  soon  after  confirmed  by  one  of 
the  permanent  company  who  had  been  in  New  York  on  the 
previous  night,  and  who  stated,  that  he  had  seen  two  small 
strange-looking  craft,  answering  to  our  description  of  the 
missing  tubs,  paddling, 'in  the  gray  twilight  of  the  morning, 
alongside  one  of  the  wharfs  in  New  York,  where  there  is 
little  doubt  that  their  adventurous  navigators  effected  a  safe 
landing. 

A  rather  ludicrous  circumstance  happened  to  a  captain  of 
a  schooner  who  picked  up  one  of  these  deserters  in  the  bnv. 
The  deserter  had  left  Governor's  Island  on  a  plank,  and 
having  miscalculated  the  run  of  the  tide,  ho  was  rapidly 


CATCHING    A    TARTAR. 


drifting  out  to  sea,  when  he  was  seen  and  picked  up  by  the 
schooner.  It  would  seem,  however,  that  the  poor  fellow  had 
only  escaped  one  danger  to  run  into  another,  for  the  captain, 
on  questioning  him,  and  finding  that  he  was  a  deserter,  not 
being  of  those  who  think  that  a  good  action  is  its  own 
reward,  resolved  upon  obtaining  the  more  tangible  one  of 
thirty  dollars,  the  sum  paid  for  the  apprehension  of  a  deser 
ter,  by  delivering  him  up  to  the  authorities  as  soon  as  they 
should  arrive  at  New  York.  However,  he  concealed  his 
design  from  his  intended  victim,  to  whom  he  appeared  ex 
ceedingly  kind  and  attentive,  giving  him  a  good  stiff  glass 
of  grog,  and  some  dry  clothes,  to  wear  until  his  own  were 
dried.  On  arriving  at  the  wharf  he  told  him  he  had  busi 
ness  ashore,  and  recommended  him  to  stay  where  he  was 
until  evening,  as  there  was  danger  of  his  being  apprehended 
should  he  go  on  shore  in  daylight.  At  all  events  he  was 
not  to  think  of  going  till  lie  should  return.  So  saying,  and 
locking  the  cabin  door  upon  the  deserter,  he  went  off  to  Go 
vernor's  Island  to  procure  a  party  of  soldiers  for  his  appre 
hension. 

Meanwhile  the  deserter  was  not  idle  or  asleep,  and  having 
"  smelt  a  rat"  from  the  captain's  manner,  especially  from  the 
circumstance  of  his  having  locked  the  cabin  door,  he  resolved 
upon  turning  the  tables  upon  him.  The  result  of  this  reso 
lution  was,  that  on  the  return  of  the  captain  with  a  party  of 
soldiers,  he  found  that  not  only  had  he  lost  his  trouble,  but 
that  during  his  absence  his  chest  had  been  broken  open, 
and  a  considerable  sum  of  money,  together  with  a  valuable 
silver  lever  watch,  had  been  abstracted  by  the  miserable- 
looking  wretch  on  whom  he  had  calculated  for  turning  in 
thirty  dollars.  The  captain,  who  looked  extremely  foolish, 
had  evidently  caught  a  Tartar  instead  of  a  deserter,  being 
minus  sixty,  instead  of  plus  thirty  dollars,  and  in  place  of 


28  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

receiving  sympathy  was  laughed  at  by  all  who  heard  the 
story.  What  added  flavour  to  the  jest  among  the  recruits, 
was  the  curious,  half-witted,  and  simple  looks  of  the  deserter, 
who  was  generally  considered  deficient  in  intellect,  but  who 
clearly  proved  himself  more  rogue  than  fool  upon  this  occa 
sion. 

In  order  to  check  the  frequency  of  desertion,  great  efforts 
were  made  to  apprehend  some  of  the  soldiers  in  the  act  of 
escaping  from  the  island,  for  the  purpose  of  inflicting  a  pun 
ishment  that  might  deter  others  from  following  their  ex 
ample.  At  length,  having  succeeded  in  apprehending  two 
who  were  trying  to  cross  in  a  small  boat  to  Brooklyn,  the 
commanding  officer  immediately  caused  a  court-martial  to 
be  summoned  for  their  trial ;  and  after  the  lapse  of  a  few 
days,  during  which  the  proceedings  of  the  court  were  sent  to 
the  commander-in-chief  for  his  approval,  the  prisoners  were 
brought  out  on  parade  to  receive  sentence  and  punishment. 
Both  of  them  having  been  proved  guilty  of  the  crime  of 
desertion,  were  sentenced  to  "undergo  the  infliction  of  a 
corporal'  punishment  of  fifty  lashes  on  the  bare  back  with  a 
raw  cowhide,  and  further  to  have  their  heads  shaved,  and  be 
drummed  out  of  the  service  with  ignominy." 

They  were  young  and  good-looking  men,  one  of  them  a 
native  of  the  States,  the  other  a  German,  and  both  received 
their  punishment,  which  was  inhumanly  severe,  with  admira 
ble  fortitude.  A  number  of  the  recruits  were  compelled  to 
fall  out  of  the  ranks  and  go  to  the  rear,  owing  to  a  sensation 
of  faintness  caused  by  witnessing  this  exhibition  of  modern 
torture.  This  is  a  common  occurrence  with  young  men, 
both  officers  and  soldiers,  many  of  whom  seem  to  suffer 
nearly  as  much  as  the  recipient,  at  witnessing  these  barba 
rous  punishments  for  the  first  time.  Fifty  lashes  is  the  full 
extent  of  corporal  punishment  that  can  be  inflicted  in  tin 


EXEMPLARY    PUNISHMENT.  29 

American  army,  and  that  only 'for  the  crime  of  desertion; 
but  as  far  as  physical  suffering  is  concerned,  cr  the  damage 
done  to  the  constitution  by  that  inhuman  mode  of  punish 
ment,  fifty  lashes  with  a  cowhide  are  fully  equivalent  t«j 
three  hundred  with  a  cat,  such  as  is  used  in  the  Britisl. 
army. 

After  being  flogged,  the  prisoners  were  marched  back  to 
the  guardhouse,  where  they  had  their  heads  shaved  bare,  in 
pursuance  of  their  sentence.  Next  morning  they  were 
brought  out  to  the  parade-ground  under  the  charge  of  a  file 
of  the  guard,  and  marched  from  thence  round  the  garrison, 
a  fifer  and  drummer  playing  a  tune  specially  used  on  these 
occasions  called  the  "  Rogues'  March,"  being  the  same  tune 
used  in  the  British  service  on  a  like  occasion.  They  were 
then  marched  down  to  the  wharf,  and  sent  over  in  the 
garrison  boat  to  Xew  York.  A  subscription  was  secretly 
got  up,  and  several  dollars  collected  for  them  among  the 
recruits,  by  whom  their  condition  was  generally  commiserat 
ed,  though  some  of  them  did  not  hesitate  to  say  that  they 
considered  them  lucky  fellows,  and  had  better  be  flogged 
and  drummed  out,  than  shot  up  in  Texas  or  Mexico. 


CHAPTER   III. 

Embarkation  at  the  Battery — Yankee    opinion  of    Soldiers — Fort 
Adams — New    Comrades — Defects    of   Organization — Routine    of 

Duties — Life  in  Quarters. 

% 

ABOUT  the  latter  end  of  the  month  of  August  a  draft  of 
forty  recruits  were  ordered  to  Fort  Adams,  Rhode  Island, 
to  complete  two  companies  of  artillery  stationed  there.  I 
had  the  good  fortune  to  be  included  in  the  number  selected 
forthis  draft,  and  was  happy  at  any  prospect  which  promised 
a  relief  from  the  disagreeable  confinement  of  Governor's  Island. 
About  five  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  thirty-first  August 
we  got  on  board  a  sloop  belonging  to  the  garrison,  which 
landed  us  at  the  Custom-house  wharf  near  the  battery.  There 
we  were  met  by  a  crowd  of  idlers,  who  gathered  round  us, 
curious  to  have  a  look  at  the  soldiers  who  they  imagined 
were  ordered  to  Texas  to  fight  the  Mexicans  ;  the  most  trivial 
movement  of  troops  being  magnified  into  an  event  by  the 
rumour  of  the  approaching  war  with  Mexico.  We  marched 
round  the  Battery  to  the  wharf  on  the  North  River,  where 
we  went  on  board  a  steamboat,  and  shortly  after  started 
amidst  the  cheers  of  a  crowd  of  urchins,  several  of  these  pre 
cocious  juveniles,  apparently  not  more  than  ten  years  of  age, 
shouting  with  intensity  of  glee  at  the  idea  of  the  fun,  u  O 
won't  they  give  the  Mexicans  hell  ?"  But,  "  as  the  old  cock 
crows,  the  young  one  learns,"  as  the  old  proverb  has  it. 

For  some  time  after  starting,  we  amused  ourselves  by  ad 
miring  the  delightful  villas  and  beautiful  scenery  of  both  the 


INTERCHANGE    OF    CIVILITIES.  31 

Manhattan  and  Long  Island  side  of  the  channel,  which 
glowed  in  the  rich  mellow  colouring  of  the  autumnal  sun 
set  like  the  realms  of  a  fairy  land.  But  evening  soon  closed 
over  us,  and  as  we  were  at  our  destination  early  next  morn 
ing,  we  had  little  opportunity  of  seeing  much  of  the  scenery 
on  our  voyage,  however  much  we  might  have  been  disposed 
to  admire  it.  Our  men  were  directed  l>y  the  officer  in  com 
mand  of  our  party  to  keep  together  in  the  fore  part  of  the 
boat  during  the  night,  and  to  sleep  on  the  deck  in  the  best 
manner  we  could.  As  the  night  air  at  that  season  of  the 
year  was  beginning  to  feel  rather  cold,  we  grumbled  a  little 
at  this  arrangement,  but  there  was  no  help  for  it.  The  boat 
was  full  of  passengers,  a  few  of  whom  occasionally  entered 
familiarly  into  conversation  with  the  soldiers,  and  showed 
their  good  breeding  by  various  acts  of  civility  and  kindness. 
But  we  could  scarcely  help  remarking  that  the  majority  of 
them  seemed  to  look  upon  us  in  the  light  of  a  degraded 
caste,  and  seemed  to  think  that  there  was  contamination  in 
the  touch  of  a  soldier  ;  for  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  though 
Jonathan  is  so  vain  of  his  military  prowess,  and  a  little  too 
apt  to  boast  of  the  wonderful  exploits  of  those  armies  of  his 
that  can  whip  all  creation  so  easily,  it  is  only  in  the  collec 
tive  term,  or  as  an  abstract  idea  ;  he  is  exceedingly  shy  of  the 
individuals  who  compose  it.  In  reply  to  some  casual  obser 
vation  made  by  a  fellow  passenger  upon  our  appearance  on 
board,  I  chanced  to  overhear  an  old  fellow  of  most  vinegar- 
looking  aspect  drily  remark,  "  Ay,  ay  !  they  arc  a  fine  set 
of  candidates  for  the  States  prison."  I  was-  standing  partly 
concealed  by  some  boxes  that  stood  upon  deck,  and  to  do  the 
old  fellow  justice,  I  believe  he  did  not  intend  that  rrs  remark 
should  reach  a  soldier's  ears :  however,  I  could  not  resist  the 
impulse  of  the  moment  which  prompted  me  to  repeat  for  his 
edification  Sir  John's  reply  to  Prince  Hal,  when  criticising 


32  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDISK    IN    MEXICO. 

his  soldiers  rather  too  curiously,  "  Tut,  tut,  good  enough  to 
toss,  food  for  powder,  food  for  powder  ;  they'll  fill  a  pit  as 
well  as  better :  tush,  man,  mortal  men,  mortal  men."  My 
quotation,  while  it  rather  took  the  old  fellow  by  surprise,  and 
raised  a  smile  among  a  few  of  the  surrounding  passengers, 
had  the  more  substantial  effect  of  being  the  means  of  pro 
curing  me  a  good  bed  that  night ;  a  luxury  which  I  believe  I 
was  the  only  one  of  the  party  who  enjoyed.  A  young  gen 
tleman  overhearing  the  conversation,  in  whom  I  afterwards 
discovered  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the  "  Mighty  Poet,'1  in 
vited  me  to  take  a  glass  of  brandy.  We  afterwards  engaged 
in  a  conversation,  which  being  enlivened  and  promoted  by 
an  occasional  tribute  to  Bacchus  and  a  fresh  supply  of  cigars, 
lasted  until  pretty  late  in  the  night.  Upon  getting  up  to  go  to 
bed,  and  learning  that  I  was  to  sleep  on  deck,  he  said, -that 
must  be  a  mistake,  but  he  would  rectify  it :  and  going  to  tiio 
stjjp^ard,  he  immediately  returned  with  a  ticket  for  a  berth,. 
which  he  gave  me,  nor  would  he  hear  of  thanks  for  his  kind 
ness  ;  insisting  that  it  cost  him  nothing,  and  that  the  circu-ri- 
stance  of  the  soldiers  sleeping  on  deck  must  have  originated 
in  a  mistake.  I  hardly  knew  what  to  think  of  it  at  the  time, 
but  afterwards  upon  reflection  I  felt  convinced  that  he  had 
paid  the  steward  for  the  accommodation,  which  he  wished  to 
offer  me  in  this  delicate  manner.  Bidding  him  a  friendly 
good  night,  I  availed  myself  of  rny  ticket,  by  going  down 
below,  where  I  found  a  good  bed,  and  slept  comfortably  until 
roused  by  beat  of  drum  next  morning.  On  getting  upon 
deck  I  found  we  were  near  our  destination,  being  opposite 
Fort  Adams,  which  is  about  a  mile  from  the  town  of  New 
port,  where  we  landed,  but  as  the  road  from  Newport,  to  the 
Fort  skirts  a  deep  bay,  we  found  the  distance  by  land  about 
three  miles. 

We  had  now  reached  the  head-quarters  of  our  regiment, 


ARRIVAL    AT    HEAD-QUARTERS.  33 

and  having  taken  off  our  knapsacks,  rested  a  little,  cleaned 
ourselves,  and  taken  breakfast,  we  were  marched  to  the  hos 
pital  to  undergo  a  final  medical  inspection.  Stripping  off  all 
our  clothes  at  the  door  of  a  large  apartment,  each  of  us 
entered  in  succession,  one  going  in  as  the  other  came  out. 
could  scarcely  help  smiling  when  in  marching  into  the 
room  in  puris  naturalibus,  the  surgeon  thus  addressed  me, 
"  So,  an  old  British  soldier,  I  suppose  ?"  which  taking  for 
granted,  without  waiting  for  any  answer,  he  continued, 
"  Have  you  been  much  in  hospital  while  in  the  British 
service  ?"  I  told  him  I  had  enjoyed  very  good  health  while 
serving  there.  He  then  asked  me  how  long  I  had  served, 
where  stationed,  and  in  what  regiment,  and,  after  making 
me  walk  about  a  little  and  extend  my  arms,  dismissed  me. 
I  admired  his  acuteness  in  thus  telling  at  a  glance  that  I 
had  served  in  the  British  army,  for  as  our  names  were  not 
called  as  we  entered,  he  could  not  have  ascertained  the  fact 
except  from  observation.  The  result  of  the  examination 
was,  that  we  were  all  without  exception  declared  fit  for 
service ;  indeed  it  rarely  happens  that  recruits  are  rejected 
on  joining  their  regiments,  as  they  are  minutely  examined 
by  the  surgeon  at  the  recruiting  station  where  they  enlist. 
**VVe  were  now  to  be  told  off  to  our  respective  companies, 
an  important  event  to  the  soldier,  as  each  company  forms  a 
separate  and  distinct  family,  from  which  during  his  five 
years'  period  of  service  he  is  seldom  transferred.  It  is  true 
these  companies  are  all  subject  to  the  same  general  regu 
lations,  but  their  whole  internal  economy,  discipline,  and  the 
general  comfort  of  the  men  are  altogether  dependent  on  the 
methods  adopted,  and  the  interest  manifested  in  its  arrange 
ments  by  the  officer  intrusted  with  its  command.  Company 
K,  commanded  by  Captain  Taylor,  and  company  I,  com 
manded  by  Lieutenant  C apron,  were  the  two  companies 


34  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

stationed  at  Fort  Adams  at  that  time.  AVe  were  to  be 
distributed  between  these  two,  and  the  simple  method  ol 
taking  a  man  alternately  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  the 
roll  having  been  decided  on  as  the  most  fair  and  impartial,  I 
found  myself  at  the  end  of  the  proceedings,  along  with  nine 
teen  more  of  my  comrades,  told  off  to  company  I. 

We  were  now  shown  to  our  quarters,  large,  arched,  bomb 
proof  rooms.  They  were  tolerably  comfortable,  with  the 
exception  of  the  wooden  bedsteads,  and  the  exceedingly 
disagreeable  custom,  still  universal  in  the  United  States 
service,  of  sleeping  two  in  a  bed — a  custom  which  has  been 
abolished  in  every  barrack  in  Great  Britain,  and  the  Colo 
nies,  to  the  infinite  comfort  of  the  soldier,  for  the  last  twenty 
years.  The  orderly,  or  chief  sergeant  of  the  company,  a 
rank  which  corresponds  with  that  of  colour  sergeant  in  the 
British  service,  told  us  off  in  twos,  and  appointed  the  beds 
we  were  to  occupy ;  affixing  a  label  with  the  names  of  the 
occupants  upon  each.  I  happened  luckily  to  get  a  very 
good  comrade,  the  usual  term  for  a  bed-fellow  in  the  army. 
He  was  an  Englishman,  named  Bill  Nutt,  a  regular  cockney ; 
who  had  been  brought  up  in  London  to  the  trade  of  a  carver 
and  gilder,  by  his  father,  once  a  respectable  master-trades 
man  in  that  business  there.  He  had  run  away  from  home 
when  a  boy,  and  served  a  three  years'  cruise  in  a  British 
man-of-war,  where  he  had  "seen  a  little  sarvice,"  having 
been,  to  use  his  own  language,  "in  a  bit  of  a  shindy 
with  the  Dutch  boors  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope."  He  was  a 
witty,  pleasant  young  fellow,  and  a  general  favourite  with  the 
men  for  his  cheerful  temper,  and  good  nature.  Still,  a  real 
specimen  of  the  John  Bull  family,  he  was  keenly  sensitive  to 
any  ill-natured  reflections  thrown  upon  his  country,  or  her 
institutions.  He  also  felt  grievously  annoyed  at  the  insolent 
and  impertinent  tone  assumed  by  native  Americans  to  al] 


A    MISCELLANEOUS    COMPANY.  35 

foreigners  ;  indeed  I  learnt  that  he  had  left  several  work 
shops  in  New  York  from  quarrels  arising  out  of  this  circum 
stance.  •'*. 

Company  I  to  which  I  now  belonged,  thoifgh  nominally 
artillery,  had  precisely  the  same  duties  to  perform  as  in 
fantry  ;  being  armed  with  muskets,  and  in  every  respect 
equipped  and  drilled  in  the  same  manner,  with  the 
exception  of  an  occasional  drill  at  the  battery  guns  of  the 
Fort.  "  The  company,  after  having  received  our  draft  of 
twenty  recruits,  consisted  of  sixty  men,  including  non-com 
missioned  officers  and  privates ;  of  these,  two  were  English; 
four  Scotch,  seven  Germans,  sixteen  Americans,  and  the 
remainder  Irish.  Such  was  its  composition  at  the  time  I 
entered,  but  in  the  American  sendee  a  company  soon  under 
goes  a  change  in  its  component  parts.  *  During  the  five 
years  which  I  served,  from  the  combined  causes  of  deaths, 
desertions,  and  discharges,  more  than  two-hundred-and-fifty 
had  ioined  it ;  although  its  strength,  never  exceeded  one- 

i)  O  O 

hundred-and-twelve,  to  which  it  was  augmented  while  in  the 
city  of  Mexico,  being  then  a  light  battery.  The  infantry 
companies  were  also  augmented  to  about  eighty  privates 
each,  during  the  war  with  Mexico. 

The  short  period  of  service  in  the  American  army  has 
obvious  disadvantages.  The  men,  from  being  so  frequently 
changed,  never  seem  to  acquire  that  feeling  of  brotherly  re 
gard  for  one  another,  or  any  of  that  kindly  forbearance,  and 
good  will,  which  a  long  acquaintance  naturally  produces ; 
and  which  helps  so  materially  to  form  and  promote  the 
esprit  du  corps,  which  is  found  to  animate  more  or  less, 
according  to  the  good  or  bad  qualities  of  the  officer  com 
manding,  every  regiment,  troop,  or  company  in  the  British 
service,  as  regards  the  mutual  relation  in  which  officers 
and  soldiers  ought  to  stand  to  each  other.  It  has  also 


36  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

the  following  prejudicial  effect — the  American  officer,  from 
want  of  a  habit  of  strict  attention  to  the  management  of  his 
company,  partly  caused  by  the  transitory  interest  he  must 
feel  in  a  perpetual  current  of  strangers,  becomes  careless  of 
either  learning  the  characters,  or  caring  for  the  interests  of 
his  men.X  Thus,  frequently  the  seeds  of  distrust  and  ill-wil' 
are  sown  between  the  two  classes ;  a  serious  evil  in  the  service, 
which  sometimes  produces  a  bitter  result.  A  signal  instance, 
of  this  occurred  at  Churubusco  in  our  Mexican  campaign,  of 
which  I  shall  have  to  speak  hereafter. 

We  were  now  in  better  circumstances  than  we  had  been 
while  on  Governor's  Island ;  we  had  comfortable  quarters  in 
place  of  tents,  and  our  diet  was  considerably  improved  by  the 
produce  of  a  garden,  which  belonged  to  the  garrison ;  it 
being  on  ground  belonging  to  the  government,  and  planted 
and  cultivated  by  the  soldiers.  The  potatoes,  cabbages,  and 
onions,  raised  by  their  labour,  formed  a  welcome  addition  to 
the  rather  indifferent  fare  furnished  to  the  soldier  by  govern 
ment.  The  cheapness  of  dairy  produce,  too,  at  Rhode  Island, 
where  butter  was  sold  at  ten  cents,  or  five  pence  a  pound, 
and  cheese  at  one  half  of  that  price,  enabled  us  to  improve 
our  diet  at  a  trifling  expense.  In  addition  to  this  abundance, 
fish  of  excellent  quality  were  plentiful  in  the  bay  close  at 
hand,  where  we  could  easily  at  any  time  catch  a  few  trout, 
rock  fish,  flounders,  lobsters,  eels,  crabs,  and  a  variety  of 
others,  of  a  richness  and  flavour  which  might  tempt  the 
palate  of  an  epicure,  and  whose  names  I  have  forgotten  at 
present,  but  a  grateful  recollection  of  whose  merits  remains 
in' the  catalogue  of  the  good  things  of  that  period.  In  the 
intervals  between  the  hours  of  drill  we  amused  ourselves  by 
fishing  in  the  bay,  by  sea  bathing,  or  by  rambling  about  the 
country  in  the  vicinity  of  the  garrison.  Sometimes  we  went 
over  to  the  town  of  Newport,  a  distance  of  about  three  miles 


THE    RECRUIT    AND    THE    SOLDIER.  37 

by  the  highway,  but  which  a  short  cut  through  the  fields 
reduced  to  two.  To  go  more  than  a  mile  from  the  garrison 
without  a  written  permission  signed  by  an  officer,  is  for 
bidden  by  a  regulation  of  the  service,  a  soldier  being  liable 
to  severe  punishment  for  its  infringement ;  but  this  rule  is 
not  often  rigorously  enforced,  and  officers  seldom  restrict 
their  men  to  any  particular  distance  from  the  garrison, 
unless  circumstances  require  it,  as  long  as  they  are  regular 
in  their  attendance  on  their  duties,  roll-calls,  and  parades. 

Kecruits  are  treated  with  a  certain  degree  of  indulgence 
for  some  time  after  joining  the  regiment,  or  company,  to 
which  they  belong.  They  are  usually  excused  from  the  per 
formance  of  all  duty  while  learning  their  drill,  a  period  of 
about  two  or  three  months.  When  the  adjutant  of  the 
regiment,  who  is  responsible  for  its  discipline,  considers  the 
recruit  sufficiently  drilled,  he  dismisses  him  from  drill,  and 
sends  him  to  duty,  as  it  is  termed  ;  he  has  then  to  take  every 
duty  in  rotation.  As  soon  as  he  mounts  his  first  guard,  he 
drops  his  title  of  recruit,  which  is  thenceforth  merged  in  that 
of  soldier ;  and  proud  of  his  newly  acquired  distinction,  he 
speedily  adopts  the  manners,  customs,  vices,  and  virtues  of 
his  model,  to  be  like  whom  has  been  for  some  time  the  high 
est  object  of  his  ambition.  But  if  the  recruit  has  gained  in 
his  own  estimation  by  advancing  to  a  level  with  the  old 
soldier,  he  soon  finds  that  the  duties  imposed  upon  him  by 
his  new  position  are  a  considerable  drawback  upon  his  newly 
attained  dignity.  In  the  first  place  he  has  to  mount  guard 
once  every  fourth  day  on  an  average  ;  this  duty  commences 
at  nine  or  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  terminates  at  the 
same  hour  next  morning.  A  soldier  remains  on  guard  for 
twenty-four  hours  in  all  ordinary  cases,  during  which  he  is 
not  permitted  to  put  off  his  clothes  or  accoutrements,  or  to 
quit  his  guard,  even  for  an  instant,  without  permission  from 


38  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

the  officers  in  charge  of  it.  There  are  three  sentries  to  each 
post,  who  are  relieved  every  two  hours  in  succession  ;  thus 
each  man  is  two  hours  on  post  and  four  hours  off,  giving  each 
eight  hours  sentry  during  his  twenty-four  hours  on  guard. 
When  off  post,  he  is  permitted  to  stretch  himself  upon  a 
sloped  wooden  bench,  with  a  wooden  pillow,  called  the  guard- 
bed,  where  he  may  sleep  if  he  chooses,  being  at  liberty  to  se 
lect  the  softest  boards  he  can  find  for  that  purpose,  but  strictly 
prohibited  from  taking  off  any  of  his  accoutrements.  'When 
relieved  from  guard  he  cleans  his  musket  and  appointments, 
which,  with  an  hour  or  two  of  drill,  occupies  his  time  until 
evening. 

The  next  duty  to  be  performed  is  that  of  "  general  police," 
all  who  came  off  guard  on  the  day  previous  being  appointed 
for  that  work.  The  principal  duties  of  the  general  police  are 
to  clean  the  parade  ground  and  the  purlieus  of  the  garrison, 
and  to  cut  wood  and  carry  water  for  the  use  of  the  officers 
and  soldiers.  They  are  under  the  superintendence  of  the 
orderly  officer,  a  duty  which  is  taken  in  rotation  by  all, 
except  the  commanding  officer  of  the  post.  The  orderly 
officer  has  also  the  supervision  of  the  barrack  guard,  and  the 
duties  of  the  garrison  generally  ;  all  reports  are  made  to  him, 
and,  in  the  event  of  any  extraordinary  occurrence,  through 
him  to  the  commanding  officer ;  in  s'hort,  the  duty  corres 
ponds  to  that  of  officer  of  the  day  in  the  English  army.  A 
very  objectionable  part  of  the  duties  required  from  the 
general  police,  and  the  source  of  a  good  deal  of  discontent, 
is  a  practice  which  exists  of  causing  them  to  do  a  considera 
ble  portion  of  work  for  officers,  which  ought  to  be  done  by 
their  own  domestic  servants.  The  men  consider  it  quite 
reasonable  that  they  should  clean  the  garrison,  and  perform 
the  necessary  duties  of  cutting  their  own  wood,  and  bringing 
water  for  their  own  use  ;  but  they  very  naturally  grumble  at 


BREACH    OF    DISCIPLINE.  39 

doinof  the  same  for  their  officer^  who  they  know  are  furnish 
ed  by  government,  in  addition  to  their  pay,  with  a  liberal 
allowance  of  money  and  rations,  for  the  express  purpose  of 
providing  themselves  with  servants  from  civil  life.  This 
custom  of  making  the  soldiers  do  the  domestic  drudgery  of 
the  officers'  household,  thus  converting  the  soldier  into  a 
degraded  menial,  a  Gibeonite  hewer  of  wood  and  drawer  of 
water,  is  universal  throughout  the  American  army,  although 
at  direct  variance  with  the  rules  of  the  service.  It  has  a 
most  deteriorating  effect  upon  the  character  of  the  soldier, 
whom  it  renders  disaffected  to  his  officers  and  the  service, 
careless  in  his  habits,  and  slovenly  in  his  appearance.*  It  is 
chiefly  owing  to  this  bad  practice,  I  have  no  doubt,  that  the 
American  soldier  is  so  much  inferior  in  smartness  of  appear 
ance,  and  in  the  neatness  of  his  uniform  and  appointments, 
to  the  English  soldier,  who  is  accustomed  to  see  the  rules  of 
the  service  as  stringently  binding  upon  the  officers  as  they 
are  upon  the  men.  What  serves  to  render  this  breach  of 
discipline  more  glaringly  inexcusable,  on  the  part  of  the 
American  officers,  is  that  the  Commander-in-Chief,  General 
Scott,  aware  of  the  existence  of  the  practice,  and  the  bad 
effects  which  it  produces,  has,  time  after  time,  issued  circu 
lars,  calling  the  attention  of  officers  to  the  existing  regulations 
on  this  subject.  These  circulars,  as  directed,  are  frequently 
read  on  parade  ;  and  the  perfect  indifference  with  which  the 
system  is  carried  on,  in  open  defiance  of  the  prohibition, 
shows  the  complete  degree  of  impunity  with  which  an  officer 
of  the  United  States  army  may  disregard  the  orders  of  a 
superior,  however  high  his  rank,  when  they  happen  to  be 
disagreeable  to  himself. 

These  duties  of  mounting  guard,  and  general  police,  are 
the  principal  part  of  the  American  soldier's  duty  when  in 
quarters  ;  in  addition  to  these  he  is  occasionally  on  company 


40  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

police,  which  consists  in  keeping  the  barrack  rooms  and  pas« 
sages  clean,  and  doing  any  work  that  the  Captain  or  Orderly 
Sergeant  may  require  in  connection  with  company  affairs. 
There  is  also  the  daily  cleaning  of  his  arms  and  appointments, 
a  thing  which  a  good  soldier  seldom  neglects,  and  which 
generally  occupies  an  hour  or  two  ;  and  the  usual  drills  and 
parades,  which  generally  occupy  two  or  three  hours  each 
day  ;  the  remainder  of  his  time  "is  pretty  much  at  his  own 
disposal. 

While  we  remained  at  Fort  Adams,  we  had  a  great  num 
ber  of  visitors  from  the  town  of  Newport,  which  is  a  fashion 
able  resort  in  summer  for  sea  bathing,  and  parties  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen  came  over  from  it  daily  to  look  at  the  fort. 
Some  of  the  old  hands  made  a  dollar  now  and  then  by  acting 
as  cicerone  to  one  of  these  parties ;  but  the  practice,  upon 
what  principle  I  must  say  I  could  not  clearly  perceive,  was 
generally  considered  low  and  disreputable.  The  fortifications 
at  Fort  Adams  are  on  a  scale  of  great  magnitude,  and  must 
have  cost  a  great  deal  of  money.  They  had  been  a  number 
of  years  in  progress  of  erection,  and  were  not  quite  finished 
when  we  left.  The  fort  commands  the  entrance  to  the  Sound, 
and  is  a  very  strong  and  complete  defence,  having  a  series  of 
subterranean  passages  connected  with  its  interior  defence, 
parts  of  which  can  be  suddenly  filled  with  water  in  a  manner 
highly  ingenious.  There  are  also  bombproof  vaults,  capable 
of  accommodating  a  Sufficient  force  for  the  garrison  of  the 
place,  which  has  an  immense  number  of  very  heavy  guns  on 
its  various  batteries. 

While  we  lay  at  Fort  Adams,  we  had  church  service  per 
formed  in  one  of  the  barrack  rooms  every  Thursday  evening, 
by  a  Methodist  preacher  from  town.  This  was  in  consequence 
of  the  distance  being  too  great  to  march  the  men  to  church 
in  town  upon  Sunday.  The  attendance  not  being  compul- 


ORDERS    TO    MOVE.  41 

sory,  very  few  of  the  men  went,  but  our  officers,  with,  their 
wives  and  children,  attended  regularly,  with  as  many  of  the 
men  as  they  could  persuade,  a  thing  which  they  sometimes 
tried  with  but  indifferent  success.  I  recollect  hearing  a  Lieu 
tenant  ask  one  of  the  men,  whom  he  met  in  the  square  as  he 
was  going  over  to  church  service,  if  he  would  not  come  over 
arid  hear  a  sermon.  "  Heaven  forbid,  sir,"  was  the  reply  of 
honest  Dennis  O'Tool,  a  Munster  man,  and  a  staunch  Catho 
lic.  "  Eh  !  what's  that  you  say,  Dennis  ?"  said  the  Lieutenant, 
in  a  bantering  tone.  "  Sure,  Lieutenant,  the  Blessed  Virgin 
knows  I'm  bad  enough  already,  without  sinning  my  soul  any 
more  by  going  to  hear  a  swaddling  preacher  mocking  the 
holy  religion,"  was  the  reply  of  Dennis  ;  at  which  the  Lieu 
tenant's  wife  lifted  up  her  eyes  in  pious  horror,  while  the 
Lieutenant  himself  went  away  laughing  heartily. 
XThe  regiment  I  had  joined  had  been  expecting  a  change 
of  station  for  some  time,  and  about  a  fortnight  after  the 
arrival  of  our  draft,  the  order  came  for  us  to  be  in  readiness 
to  proceed  to  Florida.  Most  of  the  old  hands  were  sorry  to 
leave  good  quarters  and  a  healthy  situation  like  Fort  Adams  ; 
many  of  them  had  formed  acquaintances  and  connections  in 
the  town  of  Xewport  also,  which  made  them  still  more  sorry 
at  leaving.  The  recruits,  however,  seemed  rather  pleased  at 
the  idea  of  change,  and  the  bustling  interest  and  excitement 
of  a  sea  voyage  and  change  of  scene  had  its  charms  for  some. 
For  my  own  part  I  believe  I  felt  rather  indifferent  on  the  sub 
ject.  We  were  to  go  to  Boston,  where  we  would  take  ship 
ping  for  Pensacola.  > 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Departure  from  Fort  Adams — Providence — Robbing  the  Orchard- 
Boston — Life  in  a  Transport — the  Captain  and  the  Nigger. 

Ox  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  September,  having  put  our 
baggage  on  board,  our  head-quarters,  consisting  of  the  band 
and  the  two  companies  K  and  I,  embarked  in  the  steamer  at 
the  Garrison  Wharf.  As  we  sailed  past  the  wharf  at  New 
port,  to  which  we  came  very  close,  the  captain  of  the  steamer 
directed  the  speed  to  be  lessened,  to  enable  us  to  bid  farewell 
to  our  friends,  who  were  assembled  on  the  wharf  to  see  us 
pass,  and  wave  us  their  adieus.  On  leaving,  they  gave  us 
three  hearty  cheers,  which  we  as  heartily  returned.  Our 
band  struck  up  Yankee  Doodle,  and  the  nutter  of  scarfs  and 
handkerchiefs  was  soon  lost  in  the  far  distance. 

It  was  a  fine  sunny  morning,  and  enlivened  by  the  strains 
of  a  good  band  of  music,  and  the  view  of  some  fine  river 
scenery,  we  soon  had  more  the  appearance  of  a  pleasure 
party  than  a  detachment  of  Uncle  Sam's  troops,  ordered  to  a 
distant  and  disagreeable  post.  The  green  undulating  banks 
of  the  clear,  smooth,  and  wide  stream,  which  lined  the  sandy 
or  pebbled  beach  of  a  succession  of  sylvan  coves,  were  dotted 
here  and  there  with  neat  cottages.  Farm-houses  peeped 
occasionally  through  a  clump  of  trees  on  some  gentle  rising 
eminence,  round  which  one  might  see  the  plough  had  been 
at  work,  from  the  lively  alternations  of  colour  which  distin 
guished  these  portions  of  the  landscape.  But  the  land  seemed 
principally  occupied  with  the  pasturage  of  cattle,  large  herds 


INVASION    OF    AN    ORCHARD.  43 

of  which  were  grazing  close  to  the  water's  edge,  and  adding 
to  the  picturesque  effect  of  the  scene.  On  sailing  up  to  the 
wharf  at  Providence,  I  observed  several  whale  vessels  lying 
close  up  ;  their  appearance  was  not  very  inviting,  and  from 
what  I  have  since  learned  of  these  craft,  I  think  I  should 
a1  most  prefer  another  campaign  in  Mexico  to  a  three  years' 
cruize  in  one  of  them. 

Providence  is  a  neat  and  thriving  place,  like  most  of  the 
rSc\v  England  towns,  very  clean,  quiet,  and  orderly.  Yet 
there  is  a  considerable  appearance  of  bustle  about  it:  it 
contains  several  cotton  mills,  and  is  finely  situated  in  a  plea 
sant  and  healthy  locality.  But  we  had  no  time  to  go  through 
it,  as  we  had  to  take  our  baggage  from  the  steam-boat  and 
put  it  into  the  railway  cars  ;  this  being  done,  we  got  into  the 
cars  ourselves,  and  started  immediately  for  Boston.  "We 
passed  through  a  rather  sterile  country  from  Providence  to 
Boston,  relieved  and  diversified  occasionally  by  a  farm-house, 
a  neat  village,  or  a  few  smiling  orchards.  A  nicely  white 
washed  cotton  factory  also  now  and  then  enlivened  the 
landscape,  but  the  grey  rocks,  dwarf  timber,  and  stunted  fir 
trees,  gave  ample  proof  of  the  general  poverty  of  the  soil, 
which  is  principally  occupied  in  raising  stock  and  grazing 
cattle. 

Our  progress  by  the  railway  was  rather  slow,  for  a  wheel 
belonging  to  one  of  the  cars  having  broken,  we  had  to  wait 
until  it  was  repaired  or  replaced.  In  the  meantime,  we  got 
out  of  the  cars,  and  having  found  our  way,  in  an  evil  hour 
for  their  owners,  into  some  of  the  orchards  near  the  road,  we 
helped  ourselves  plentifully  to  the  apples  and  peaches  with 
which  the  trees  were  loaded.  Soldiers,  especially  on  the 
march,  seem  to  have  exceedingly  imperfect  and  confused 
ideas  on  the  subject  of  meum  and  tuurn.  On  the  present 
occasion,  I  believe  the  most  conscientious  among  us  considered 


44  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

ourselves  completely  exculpated  by  the  fact,  that  being  hot 
and  thirsty,  we  could  find  no  good  water  to  drink.  Besides, 
I  dare  say  there  was  a  sort  of  vindictive  pleasure  in  this  sort 
of  spoiling  of  the  Egyptians:  were  we  not  going  on  a  long 
voyage  to  a  distant  and  unhealthy  post,  while  the  owners  of 
these  apples  and  peaches  were  living  at  home  at  ease  !  u  Faith, 
it  may  be  a  long  time  before  we  see  an  apple  orchard  again,'* 
remarked  one,  as  he  industriously  filled  his  havresack  with 
the  fruit.  A  long  time  certainly  !  Many  of  the  poor  fellows 
never  entered  another  orchard,  and  never  will !  Two  years 
afterwards,  when  rambling  with  some  of  my  comrades  through 
a  beautiful  orchard  near  St.  Augustine,  a  small  town  on  one 
of  the  most  deliciously  fertile  and  richly  cultivated  skirts  of 
the  valley  of  Mexico,  I  recalled  to  their  mind  the  conversa 
tion  we  had  held  while  plundering  the  orchard  by  the  way 
side,  as  the  cars  were  being  repaired.  In  the  short  space  of 
two  years  we  had  got  almost  an  entirely. new  company. 
There  were  only  about  a  third  of  the  original  number  remain 
ing,  who  had  left  Fort  Adams  two  years  previously — deaths, 
discharges,  and  desertions  had  made  awful  inroads  on  our 
community. 

We  arrived  at  Boston  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
and  after  transferring  our  baggage  from  the  railway  cars  to 
waggons,  we  marched  through  the  city  with  our  regimental 
colors  displayed,  and  our  band  playing  in  front,  which 
attracted  a  great  crowd  around  us.  On  our  way  through  tho 
common,  we  got  a  glimpse  of  the  famous  Bunker's  Hill 
monument. 

"  A  very  common-place  looking  affair,  but  a  remarkable 
monument  for  all  that,"  observed  Bill  Nutt,  "it  being  tho 
only  monument  known  to  exist  that  has  been  erected  to  com 
memorate  a  defeat." 

"  Arrah,  whisht  with  your  blather,  man,  don't  you  per 


AN    ARBITRARY    PROHIBITION.  45 

ccive  the  illegant  allegory  of  the  thing ;  it's  only  a  standing 
real  genuine  American  bull,  set  up  in  opposition  to  the  old 
English  one,"  said  Paddy  Bynne. 

We  had  no  opportunity  of  seeing  much  of  the  city  of 
Boston,  as  we  were  inarched  on  board  the. ship  in  which  we 
were  going,  as  soon  as  we  arrived  at  the  wharf  where  she 
lay.  It  was  a  fine  large  new  vessel,  called  the  Albatross,  of 
about  one  thousand  tons  burden.  She  had  been  built  for  the 
cotton  trade,  and  was  to  take  in  cotton  at  Mobile,  after  land 
ing  us  at  Pensacola.  There  were  two  other  companies  of  our 
regiment  on  board,  making  four  companies  in  all ;  but  each 
company  was  only  about  sixty  strong,  and  we  had  not  a  great 
number  of  women  and  children,  as  several  of  the  married 
men  had  left  their  wives  and  families  behind,  being  near  the 
expiration  of  their  .service.  We  had  a  fine  large  vessel,  well 
fitted  up,  and  had,  therefore,  more  room  and  better  accom 
modation  than  commonly  falls  to  the  lot  of  soldiers  aboard 
ship.  '* 

We  had  not  been  long  on  board  when  a  guard  was  mount 
ed,  and  a  number  of  sentries  placed  all  around  the  deck,  and 
at  the  gangway.  These  sentries  had  orders  to  prevent  the 
men  from  going  ashore  without  permission,  the  smuggling 
of  spirits  into  the  vessel  for  the  use  of  the  soldiers,  and  seve 
ral  things  of  that  nature.  These  measures,  I  could  plainly 
perceive,  had  only  the  effect  of  making  the  men  resort  to  a 
little  more  strategy  in  effecting  their  objects,  which  it  was 
soon  tolerably  apparent  had  a  diametrically  opposite  tendency 
to  the  tee-total  principle.  A  number  of  the  men,  having  applied 
for  leave  to  go  on  shore  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  neces 
saries  for  the  voyage,  were  not  only  refused,  but  told  that  all 
Midi  applications  would  be  useless,  as  the  commanding  offi 
cer  was  resolved  to  grant  no  leave  for  either  non-commissioned 

& 

officers  or  soldiers  to  go  on  shore  while  in   harbor.     Thi? 


46  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

extreme  caution  of  the  commanding  officer  was  bad  policy, 
as  it  enlisted  the  sympathies  of  the  sentries  in  favour  of  ihoso 
who  wished  to  go  on  shore ;  the  non-commissioned  officers 
also,  finding  that  they  were  prevented  from  going  as  well  as 
the  men,  made  common  cause  with  them  in  endeavouring  to 
nullify  the  arbitrary  prohibition.  As  a  consequence  of  this 
state  of  things,  I  could  soon  see  that  the  sentry  winked  at 
all  sorts  of  irregularities ;  rather  assisting  to  mystify  his 
officers,  by  helping  his  comrades  to  elude  their  vigilance  in 
going  in  and  out  of  the  vessel,  than  trying  to  detect  or  pre 
vent  them.  The  method  commonly  adopted  to  get  out  of  the 
vessel  was,  to  substitute  a  straw  or  tarpaulin  hat,  and  a 
Guernsey  frock,  or  red  woollen  shirt,  for  the  soldier's  cap  and 
jacket.  This  disguise,  so  effective  as  to  deceive  the  most 
acute  of  the  officers,  was  easily  procured  from  some  of  the 
sailors  on  board,  and  by  means  of  it  a  constant  communica 
tion  was  kept  up  with  the  grog  stores  while  we  lay  thoro, 
fortunately  not  a  long  -period,  being  only  during  the  next 
day  and  night.  Thus,  while  our  commanding  officer,  I  have 
no  doubt,  flattered  himself  with  the  idea  of  his  own  sagacity, 
in  refusing  his  men  these  indulgences,  which  it  should  have 
been  his  pleasure,  as  it  certainly  would  have  been  his  best 
policy,  as  well  as  his  duty,  to  have  granted,  he  was  weaken 
ing  his  authority  by  stretching  it  too  far — a  more  common 
mistake  in  the  service  than  officers  are  at  all  apt  to  imagine. 
A  rather  ludicrous  circumstance,  which  occurred  while  we 
lay  here,  helped  to  enliven  a  little  the  usual  monotony  of  a 
ship's  deck  while  in  harbor.  A  comical  sort  of  fellow,  of  the 
name  of  Morris,  belonging  to  one  of  the  companies  on  board, 
who  used  to  sing  Nigger  songs,  and  who,  being  a  very  good 
mimic,  could  act  the  Nigger  admirably,  resolved  to  turn  his 
talents  to  account  by  assuming  the  character  while  in  harbor, 
and  passing  himself  off  among  his  comrades,  except  a  fev 


AN    AMUSING    COMEDY.  47 

who  were  in  his  confidence,  as  a  black  cook  belonging  to  the 
ship— his  twofold  motive  for  thus  "working  the  dodge."  as 
he  styled  it,  being  partly  the  fun  he  expected  from  the  mys 
tification  of  the  men  and  officers,  and  partly  that  he  might 
be  allowed  to  bring  whiskey  into  the  ship,  there  being  no 
hindrance  to  the  ship's  crew  bringing  goods  on  board,  as  our 
sentries  could  not  interfere  with  them.  Borrowing,  therefore, 
an  old  pair  of  canvas  trousers,  a  Guernsey  shirt,  and  tar 
paulin  hat  from  a  sailor,  and  thoroughly  engraining  his  face 
and  hands  with  the  sooty  composition  requisite  to  give  him 
the  true  Ethiopian  complexion,  he  became  quite  invulnerable 
to  detection  by  his  coat  of  darkness.  In  this  disguise  he 
rolled  about  the  deck  during  the  whole  of  the  forenoon  in  a 
partial  state  of  intoxication,  and  came  and  went  between  the 
vessel  and  shore,  carrying  baskets  and  parcels  of  suspicious 
import  with  the  most  perfect  impunity.  Towards  evening, 
he  began  to  sing  snatches  of  Nigger  songs,  varying  the  exhi 
bition  with  a  "  flare-up"  jawing  match  with  some  of  the  sol 
diers,  in  the  sort  of  gibberish  and  broken  English  so  peculiar 
to  the  woolly-headed  sons  of  Ham.  This  comedy  afforded 
considerable  amusement,  especially  to  those  of  his  comrades 
in  the  secret  of  his  disguise.  As  he  was  dexterous  in  the 
tongue  fence  of  those  encounters  of  rude  wit,  and  knowing 
the  chinks  in  the  armor  of  his  opponents,  he  was  sometimes 
able,  by  a  seemingly  careless  though  cunning  thrust,  to  ad 
minister  a  sickener  to  their  vanity,  which  was  the  more  galling 
as  seeming  to  come  from  a  dirty  and  half-drunken  Nigger. 
"  Ah,  soger,"  he  would  say  to  some  poor  fellow  whom  he 
saw  casting  a  longing  eye  towards  the  busy  thoroughfares  of 
the  city,  "  captain  not  let  you  go  shore,  eh  ?  Too  bad,  eh  ? 
much  sooner  be  black  ship's  cook  than  soger."  "  What's  that 
you  say,  you  Nigger  ?"  would  most  probably  be  the  reply  of 
the  soldier,  not  being  in  the  best  temper,  and  rather  indig- 


48  ADVKNTURK.S    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

nant  at  the  idea  of  being  an  object  of  commiseration  to  a 
Nigger.  "  Who  you  call  Nigger,  eh  ?  Nigger  yourself,  sar ; 
more  Nigger,  a  good  sight,  than  ship's  cook,  sar  ;  ship's  cook 
go  ashore  when  he  please,  and  get  drunk  like  gentleman,  sar ; 
you  a  white  soger  Nigger,  me  black  ship's  cook  Nigger — dat 
all  de  difference."  Then,  as  if  in  soliloquy,  in  a  deprecatory 
tone,  "  Eh  !  by  Jorze,  boff  poor  Niggers ;  soger  moss  as  spec- 
table  as  colored  Nigger  when  he  keep  heself  sober  and 
behave  screetly,  like  color  gemman."  Stung  and  irritated  by 
the  mock  sympathy  of  the  Nigger,  the  soldier  would  now  be 
for  taking  a  summary  revenge  out  of  his  ignoble  carcase, 
when  some  of  the  darkey's  friends  would  interpose,  declaring 
that  he  was  a  good  fellow,  and  they  would  not  see  him  ill- 
used.  In  the  meantime,  Morris  was  supposed  by  the  orderly 
sergeant  of  his  company  to  be  absent  in  town,  and  as  such 
reported  to  the  captain.  Thus  far,  all  had  gone  on  swim 
mingly  ;  but  there  was  a  bit  of  a  rather  unpleasant  surprise 
preparing  for  him  as  the  denouement  to  this  farce,  which  he 
had  acted  with  so  much  success,  which  had  probably  not 
entered  into  his  conception  of  the  character,  but  mightily 
increased  the  dramatic  effect  of  the  representation  as  a 
whole. 

The  captain  of  his  company,  who  was  a  bit  of  a  hu 
mourist,  either  having  detected  the  masquerader  himself,  or 
having  been  informed  by  some  busy  person  of  the  strange 
metamorphosis  which  one  of  his  men  had  undergone,  it 
occurred  to  him  that  he  had  an  opportunity  of  giving  him  a 
taste  of  Nigger  discipline,  that  might  make  him  feel  more 
vividly  the  character  he  had  been  representing  with  so  much 
applause.  Sauntering,  accordingly,  along  the  deck,  with  his 
hands  behind  him,  until  he  arrived  opposite  the  circle  where 
Morris  was  exhibiting  his  antics,  he  deliberately  stepped  for 
ward  and  seized  him  by  the  collar,  and  pulling  out  a  raw 


THE  DENOUEMENT  OF  THE  COMEDY.          49 

cowhide,  from  behind  his  back,  he  began  to  vigorously  bela 
bour  poor  darkey's  shoulders.  "  O  Lor,  massa  !  O  Golly  ! 
What  you  trike  poor  debil  for  ?  What  hell  dis  3"  shouted  Mor 
ris,  who  had  no  idea  that  he  was  discovered,  and  was  willing 
to  submit  to  a  moderate  decree  of  chastisement  rather  than 

O 

drop  his.  disguise  at  that  particular  juncture.  "  You  infer 
nal  grinning  scoundrel,"  cries  the  captain,  still  vigorously 
applying  the  cowhide,  "  I  have  been  watching  you  quarrelling 
with  and  aggravating  my  men  all  this  afternoon ;  what  do 
you  mean,  you  black  rascal,  eh  ?  Curse  your  ugly  black 
countenance,  I'll  beat  you  to  a  jelly,  you  scoundrel."  As  he 
still  continued  his  discipline  with  the  cowhide,  showing  no 
symptoms  of  speedily  leaving  off,  Morris,  who  was  smarting 
with  pain,  at  last  began  to  think  more  of  preserving  his  skin 
than  his  incognito,  and  called  out  lustily,  "  Captain,  I  say — 
stop !  I  am  no  Nigger — I  am  a  soldier !"  At  this  there 
was  a  general  burst  of  laughter  from  the  soldiers,  who 
crowded  round,  and  seemed  to  enjoy  the  scene  amazingly ; 
those  who  did  not  know  that  Morris  was  actually  a  soldier, 
laughing  still  more  obstreperously  at  the  seeming  absurdity 
of  the  Nigger's  assertion.  The  captain,  though  evidently 
tickled,  seemed  in  no  hurry  to  let  him  go :  "  Do  you  hear  the 
impudence  of  the  black  rascal  ?  he  says  he  is  a  soldier  !n 
said  the  captain,  addressing  the  men  who  were  standing 
round.  "  There,  does  he  look  like  a  soldier  ?"  he  continued, 
as  he  turned  him  round  for  inspection.  "  Go  along,  you 
black  rascal,  and  don't  let  me  catch  you  among  my  men 
again,  or  I  will  certainly  serve  you  out  with  a  few  more  of 
the  same  sort."  So  saying,  and  administering  a  few  parting 
salutations  of  the  cowhide  as  he  released  him,  the  captain 
walked  off,  chuckling  to  himself  at  the  joke,  which  I  saw 
him  relating  afterwards  to  some  of  his  brother  officers,  to 
their  infinite  mirth,  if  one  might  judge  from  the  peals  of 

3 


50  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

laughter  which  his  story  elicited.  In  the  meantime,  Morris 
was  fain  to  get  rid  of  his  Nigger  character  as  quickly  as  pos 
sible  ;  and  having,  with  the  aid  of  warm  water  and  soap, 
effected  this,  he  made  his  appearance  on  deck,  and  reported 
himself  as  having  been  asleep  in  the  hold  when  the  roll  was 
called.  This  the  sergeant  reported  to  the  captain,  who,  satis 
fied,  it  is  probable,  with  the  punishment  he  had  administered 
with  the  cowhide,  affected  to  believe  his  statement,  and  sent 
him  word  by  the  sergeant  to  take  better  care  in  future. 

While  we  lay  at  the  wharf,  we  had  a  crowd  of  inquisitive 
idlers  in  constant  attendance  round  the  vessel,  all  of  whom 
seemed  particularly  anxious  to  learn  our  destination.  To  the 
often-repeated  question  on  this  all-absorbing  topic,  the  inva 
riable  answer  was  that  we  were  going  to  Mexico.  This  being 
in  the  most  perfect  accordance  with  the  preconception,  as 
well  as  the  ideas  of  propriety  of  the  inquirer,  was  of  course 
perfectly  satisfactory,  and  therefore  implicitly  believed.  The 
fact  is,  that  had  they  been  told  the  simple  truth  that  we 
wrere  going  to  Florida,  they  would  either  have  suspected  their 
informant  of  telling  a  lie,  or  considered  him  ignorant  of  the 
true  destination.  They  had  made  up  their  minds  that  we 
were  going  to  Mexico,  and  our  men  thought  it  just  as  well 
to  agree  with  them  for  the  short  time  we  were  to  be  in  their 
company. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Soldier -at  Sea. 

ABOUT  nine  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  the  17th,  the  tide 
being  full,  we  unmoored  ship,  and  with  a  fair  wind,  stood  out 
of  harbour.  With  a  fine,  steady,  though  light  breeze,  we 
sailed  pleasantly  past  forts  and  light-houses,  gliding  along  by 
a  miserably  barren-lodking  coast,  consisting  for  the  most  part 
of  strangely  rugged  and  fantastic  looking  piles  of  grey  and 
weather-beaten  rocks,  and  low  sandy  islets,  covered  with 
rushes  or  stunted  grass,  the  only  sign  of  vegetation  visible. 
In  the  evening  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  Cape  Cod  in  the  dis 
tance,  but^  passed  it  during  the  night,  and  on  the  morning  of 
the  18th  we  found  ourselves  on  the  open  sea. 

A  soldier  at  sea  generally  finds  himself  very  disagreeably 
situated.  Accustomed  to  strict  personal  cleanliness,  and  in 
the  habit  of  keeping  his  arms  and  appointments  in  a  high 
state  of  order  when  in  quarters,  he  feels  completely  out  of 
his  element  in  a  transport,  where,  even  under  the  most 
favourable  circumstances,  he  is  utterly  unable  to  attend  to  a 
number  of  those  things  so  essential  to  his  feelings  of  com 
fort.  On  the  present  occasion,  however,  we  were  more  com 
fortably  situated  than  is  usually  the  case  with  soldiers  in  a 
government  transport,  the  vessel  we  were  in  being  double 
the  size  of  that  we  were  entitled  to  by  the  rules  of  the  ser 
vice.  Yet  we  were  by  no  means  too  comfortable,  or  in  pos 
session  of  a  great  deal  of  superfluous  space  ;  the  fact  is,  that 
in  ordinary  cases  soldiers  are  usually  stowed  away  when  at 


52        ADVENTURES  OF  A  SOLDIER  IN  MEXICO. 

sea,  more  like  cattle,  or  liogs,  on  a  Dublin  and  Liverpool 
steamer,  than  human  beings  ;  and  the  exemption  from  this  in 
the  present  instance  was  hailed  as  a  blessing.  But  this  cir 
cumstance,  so  much  in  our  favour,  was  not  caused  by  any 
extraordinary  or  particular  extension  of  courtesy  or  kindness 
shown  to  us  by  those  in  authority.  It  arose  simply  from  the 
Albatross  being  in  want  of  a  cargo  for  Mobile,  a  port  within 
a  short  distance  of  the  one  we  were  destined  to,  and  where 
she  was  to  ship  a  cargo  of  cotton  for  Liverpool.  A  vessel  of 
half  the  size,  if  specially  chartered  for  the  purpose,  would 
have  cost  government  as  much,  or  probably  more  ;  while 
adding  most  incalculably  to  our  discomfort,  and  giving  rise 
to  innumerable  heinous  infractions  of  the  third  command 
ment,  had  the  present  chance  not  turned  up  in  our  favour. 

The  arrangements  for  accommodation  between  decks,  were 
much  the  same  as  those  usually  made  in  emigrant  vessels  ; 
a  row  of  two  berths,  one  above  the  other,  ran  along  each  side 
of  the  vessel,  and  a  third  similar  one  in  the  centre  ;  leaving 
a  tolerably  wide  passage  on  each  side  of  the  centre  row  as  a 
gangway.  A  portion  of  the  hold  was  separated  by  a  boarded 
partition,  for  the  use  of  the  married  people.  In  time  of 
peace,  three  married  men  of  each  company  are  allowed 
(their  wives  being  laundresses,  and  washing  for  the  soldiers,) 
to  bring  their  families  along  with  them  when  moving.  Each 
of  these  married  men  is  allowed  separate  quarters  for 
himself  and  family  when  in  garrison,  also  rations  for  his 
wife,  who  is  paid  a  stated  sum  by  each  soldier  for  whom  they 
wash.  When  one  of  these  married  men  is  discharged,  if 
more  applicants  than  one  should  apply  for  the  vacant  situa 
tion,  the  Captain  gives  it  to  the  one  he  considers  the  best  de 
serving.  When  going  on  active  service,  neither  officers  nor 
soldiers  are  permitted  to  take  their  wives  or  families  along 
with  them. 


HOW    TO    TREAT    SEA-SICKNESS..  53 

On  the  evening  of  the  18th,  the  breeze  having  freshened, 
a  number  of  the  men  began  to  experience  the  usual  effects 
produced  on  the  stomach  of  a  land-lubber  by  the  motion  of 
a  vessel  at  sea.  Of  course  we  had  a  repetition  of  a  few  of 
those  mouldy  old  practical  jests  which  have  been  in  use  on 
board  ship  on  these  occasions  from  time  immemorial ;  those 
in  the  enjoyment  of  their  usual  health  and  spirits  seeming  to 
consider  the  unfortunate  individuals  suffering  from  this  an 
noying  sickness  fair  game,  and  a  legitimate  object  of  mirth, 
in  place  of  sympathy.  One  of  the  oldest  jokes  perpetrated 
on  these  occasions,  must  be  familiar  to  every  soldier  who  has 
ever  made  a  sea  voyage,  and  is  played-off  somewhat  after  the 
following  manner.  The  hoaxer  pretending  great  sympathy 
with  the  sufferings  of  the  afflicted,  states  that  he  has  heard 
of  a  most  excellent  remedy,  of  simple  and  easy  application, 
and  certain  in  its  results.  Should  he  succeed  in  engaging 
the  interest  and  attention  of  his  audience,  the  insidious  de 
sign  of  the  hoaxer  is  accomplished ;  he  immediately  pro 
ceeds  to  describe  the-  simple  and  never-known-to-fail  remedy, 
which  consists  of  the  following  recipe,  "  Take  a  good  large 
slice  of  fat  pork  tied  to  a  string."  The  bare  mention  of  fat 
pork,  without  the  rank  atrocity  and  diabolical  intent  implied 
in  the  attached  string,  is  quite  sufficient  to  raise  the  gorge 
of  his  intended  victims,  who  seldom  wait  to  hear  the-conclu- 
sion  of  the  recipe ;  while  the  hoaxer  shows  the  cloven  hoof 
by  an  obstreperous  and,  demoniacal  fit  of  laughter  as  the 
pale  faces  flit  past  him  to  lean  over  the  bulwarks,  and  won 
der,  while  paying  their  tribute  to  Neptune,  what  pleasure  one 
rational  being  can  derive  from  the  sufferings  of  another. 

This  practice  of  turning  the  sufferings  of  the  sea-sick  into 
ridicule,  and  which  seems  so  strange  and  unfeeling,  arises,  I  arn 
inclined  to  think,  from  a  good  rather  than  a  bad  motive  ; 
owing  its  origin,  probably,  to  the  circumstance  that  the- 


54  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

exertion  requisite  to  overcome  sea-sickness  and  its  consequent 
torpor,  is  most  effectually  promoted  by  the  fear  of  this  ridi 
cule.  I  have  often  seen  strong  men,  from  a  want  of  the 
requisite  energy  to  throw  off  this  torpor  and  counteract  its 
effects  by  moderate  exercise  and  the  fresh  air  of  the  deck, 
sink  into  a  critically  dangerous  state  of  illness,  nearly  ending 
in  death  from  exhaustion,  the  stomach  ceasing  to  perform  its 
functions,  and  the  whole  frame  being  reduced  to  a  mere 
skeleton. 

The  sailors  on  board  ship  are  always  told  off  into  two 
watches,  one  of  which  is  constantly  kept  upon  deck  for  the 
performance  of  the  necessary  work  of  the  vessel.  These 
watches  relieve  each  other  every  four  hours,  but  in  a  gale,  or 
when  a  sudden  squall  is  apprehended,  all  hands  remain  con 
stantly  on  deck  until  the  danger  is  supposed  to  be  over. 
Soldiers  being  reckoned  worse  than  useless  in  a  gale  of  wind, 
are  bundled  below  with  very  small  ceremony  when  the  wea 
ther  looks  dangerous,  with  the  occasional  exception  of  a  few 
of  the  more  active,  retained  to  assist  the  seamen.  Owing  to 
the  dislike  of  the  soldiers  to  remain  below,  it  sometimes  hap 
pens  that  the  Captain  or  mate  of  the  vessel  finds  it  necessary 
to  complain  to  the  officer  of  the  day,  that  the  soldiers  are  in 
the  way  of  their  men  in  working  the  ship.  In  this  case  the 
officer  gives  instruction  to  the  sergeant  of  the  guard,  who  soon 
sees  all  the  soldiers  down  below ;  after  which  the  gratings 
are  put  on  the  hatchways,  and  a  sentry  placed  over  each, 
with  orders  to  allow  none  of  the  men  to  come  upon  deck. 
In  the  mfrantime  the  scene  below  is  one  of  "  most  admired 
disorder,"  women  ejaculating,  children  screaming,  soldiers 
cursing,  swearing,  singing,  dancing,  and  making  every  sort 
of  uncouth  and  dissonant  noise  imaginable,  a  few  of  the  more 
energetic  radicals,  locofocos,  or  physical  force  chartists,  ha 
ranguing  their  comrades  meanwhile  upon  the  propriety  of 


SCENES    IN    A    TROOP-SHIP.  55 

breaking  the  hatches  open,  and  forcing  their  way  upon  deck 
in  spite  of  the  sentry,  and  the  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  pro 
hibition  of  the  officer  of  the  day,  a  proposition  usually  hailed 
with  acclamation  and  adopted  nem.  con.  But,  ere  "  screwing 
their  courage  to  the  sticking  point,"  "The  native  hue  of 
resolution  is  sicklied  o'er  with  the  pale  cast  of  thought,"  and 
the  suggestion  thrown  out  by  some  milk-and-water  moral 
force  advocate,  relative  to  the  pains  and  penalties  attached 
to  mutiny,  and  deforcement  of  sentries,  in  the  "  Articles  of 
War"  cautions  the  rash  and  fiery  spirits  of  incipient  rebellion, 
that  "tis  better  to  bear  those  ills  they  have,  than  fly  to 
others  which  they  know  not  of."  And  thus  this  enterprise 
of  such  pith  and  moment,  like  most  of  those  of  the  physical 
force  chartists,  ends  in  "mere  sound  and  fury,  signifying 
nothing."  This  confinement,  however,  being  only  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  the  sailors  from  being  impeded  in  their 
work  while  taking  in  sail,  seldom  lasts  more  than  half  an 
hour,  or  an  hour.  As  soon  as  everything  is  snug  upon  deck, 
the  gratings  are  removed  from  the  hatchways  ;  and  glimpses 
of  light,  and  hope,  and  currents  of  fresh  air,  circulate  through 
the  hold  once  more ;  while  our  moral  force  advocate  emerg 
ing  from  the  pestiferous  atmosphere,  triumphs  in  the  progress 
of  a  rational  sanitary  reform. 

Soldiers  on  board  ship  are  usually  told  off  into  three 
watches ;  this  is  done  to  prevent  the  over-crowding  the  hold, 
by  keeping  one  third  of  their  number  constantly  on  deck ; 
each  watch  remaining  four  hours  on  deck  in  succession.  On 
the  present  occasion  the  custom  of  telling  off  into  watches 
was  dispensed  with,  very  much  to  our  satisfaction  ;  the  Alba 
tross  being  large  and  roomy  enough,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
officer  commanding,  to  render  the  observance  of  the  regula 
tion  unnecessary.  Still,  throughout  the  whole  of  the  voyage 
the  rules  for  cleaning  and  ventilating  the  ship  were  strictly 


56  ADVENTURES    OF    A    fcOLDlER    IN    MEXICD. 

maintained  ;  tliese  being  of  the  most  essential  importance  tc 
the  health  and  comfort  of  troops  on  board  ship,  too  much 
rigour  can  scarcely  be  used  by  officers  in  enforcing  their 
observance.  A  sergeant,  corporal,  and  twelve  men  mounted 
guard  every  morning  at  nine  o'clock ;  two  sentries  were 
posted  between  decks,  one.  at  each  end  of  the  vessel,  for  the 
purpose  of  preserving  order,  and  taking  charge  of  the  lights 
which  hung  in  large  glass  globe  lamps,  one  at  each  hatch 
way,  during  the  whole  night.  Other  two  sentries  were 
placed  on  deck,  one  having  charge  of  the  water  cask,  where 
our  daily  supply  of  fresh  water  was  kept,  to  prevent  any 
waste,  or  undue  use  of-  it ;  while  the  other  had  orders  to 
check  quarrelling,  or  gross  improprieties,  and  preserve  order 
generally  on  deck.  Every  morning  immediately  after  guard 
mounting,  all  hands,  men,  women,  and  children,  wrere  turned 
upon  deck ;  unless  in  rough,  or  very  wet  weather,  w  hen  the 
rule  was  not  enforced.  The  police,  consisting  of  the  non 
commissioned  officers  and  men  who  came  off  guard  on  the 
previous  morning,  then  went  below,  and  scraped,  and  after 
wards  washed  the  floor  of  the  lower  deck.  Afterwards  they 
fumigated  between  decks  with  tar,  and  sprinkled  the  floor 
with  chloride  of  lime ;  they  also  brought  up  a  day's  supply 
of  fuel  and  fresh  water  from  the  lower  hold  for  the  use  of  the 
soldiers.  The  soldiers  always  brought  up  their  own  wood 
and  water,  and  had  a  cook  and  cooking  place  of  their  own  ; 
as  well  as  being  lodged  in  a  distinct  portion  of  the  ship 
called  the  forecastle.  After  the  hold  had  been  cleaned,  it  was 
inspected  by  the  officer  of  the  day,  to  see  that  the  duty  had 
been  properly  performed,  and  that  the  bedding  and  clothes 
belonging  to  the  men  were  neatly  folded  and  arranged  in 
their  respective  berths.  In  fine  weather  the  whole  of  the  bed 
ding  was  brought  upon  deck  and  well  aired,  and  none  of  the 
men  were  permitted  to  go  below  without  special  permission, 


DEARTH    OF    LITERATURE.  57 

until  the  whole  were  allowed  down  in  the  evening.  "When  I 
speak  here  of  bedding,  I  mean  the  soldier's  blanket,  which  in 
the  United  States  service  he  always  carries  along  with  him ; 
there  are  no  mattresses  for  a  soldier  to  lie  upon  on  board  ship 
in  the  American  service. 

As  these  were  all  the  duties  we  had  to  perform  while  on 
board,  it  will  be  seen  that  we  had  very  little  to  do.,  or  to 
occupy  our  attention  during  the  greater  portion  of  our  time, 
which,  as  usual  under  like  circumstances,  hung  heavy  on  our 
hands.  The  fortunate  few  who  could  obtain  books,  were 
assiduous  in  their  endeavours  to  convert  the  tedium  of  a  sea 
voyage  into  a  source  of  enjoyment,  but  unfortunately  tho 
supply  of  literature  fell  far  short  of  the  demand  ;  the  natural 
result  followed  ;  holders  grew  firm,  and  books  were  at  an 
immense  premium.  I  could  scarce  help  fancying  how  exceed 
ingly  gratifying  it  would  have  been  to  the  literary  vanity  of 
the  authors  of  "The  Bloody  Bandit  of  the  Lion's  Glen," 
"  The  Mysterious  Hand,"  and  others  of  that  genus,  could  they 
have  witnessed  the  surprising  request  in  which  their  produc 
tions  were  held,  and  the  apparent  gusto  with  which  their 
intensely  melo-dramatic  scenes  ^cie  devoured  on  board  our 
vessel.  It  was  truly  wonderful,  the  sudden  change  wrought 
in  the  value  of  scraps  of  printed  paper ;  everything  of  which 
sort  seemed  to  "  suffer  a  sea  change  into  something  rich  and 
strange."  An  old  newspaper  became  suddenly  invested  with 
a  remarkable  degree  of  literary  interest,  and  a  dozen  would 
have  bespoken,  and  be  waiting  in  rotation  for  the  perusal  of 
the  fragment  of  some  old  third-rate  novel,  or  antediluvian 
magazine,  as  eagerly"  as  the  most  impatient  reader  watches 
for  his  favourite  monthly.  Under  these  circumstances,  unless 
one  had  something  to  offer  by  way  of  quid  pro  quo,  reading 
was  totally  out  of  the  question.  In  this  emergency  it 
occurred  to  Bill  Nutt,  the  young  man  whom  I  mentioned  as 

3* 


58  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

having  been  told  off  as  my  comrade  in  a  former  chapter,  to 
offer  a  sort  of  succedaneum  a  written  journal  of  the  transac 
tions  on  -board.  Accordingly  on  the  morning  of  Sept.  20th 
a  placard  containing  the  following  announcement  might  have 
been  seen  pasted  up  on  a  conspicuous  part  of  the  hatchway 
of  the  good  ship  Albatross. 

'Albatross,  20tk  Sept.  1845. 
"THE  JOURNAL  OF  THE  ALBATROSS. 

"  To-morrow  morning  will  appear  the  first  number  of  a 
journal  bearing  the  above  title,  to  be  published  daily  (wea 
ther  permitting),  at  our  office  near  the  cook's  galley,  on 
board  of  the  Albatross.  This  journal  will  consist  of  at 
least  eight  quarto  pages  in  legible  handwriting :  it  will  con 
tain,  besides  '  The  News  of  the  Day,'  *  Critical  Notices,' 
1  Letters  of  Correspondents,'  and  '  Advertisements,'  a  general 
summary  of  all  the  stirring  and  striking  events,  daily,  hourly, 
and  minutely  acted  and  transacted,  before  the  eyes,  and  as 
it  were  under  the  noses,  of  this  strange  conglomeration  of 
unfortunate  humanity  now  on  board.  Amalgamated,  mixed 
up,  and  bound  up,  as  it  were  in  our  fortunes,  by  the  inextri 
cable  and  inexplicable  decrees  of  the  three  sisters,  and  the 
immutable  and  inscrutable  Avorkings  of  destiny,  who  in  forg 
ing  the  chain  of  circumstances  that  at  present  surround  us, 
has  obviously  decided  that,  sink  or  swim,  we  should  sail  down 
the  stream  of  time  in  this  wooden  prison  for  a  certain  period 
in  company  ;  it  becomes  us  to  make  the  term  of  confinement 
seem  as  short  as  possible.  With  a  view  to  this  result,  seve 
ral  of  the  motley  individuals  forming  part  of  the  worshipful 
society  here  assembled,  have  come  to  the  resolution  of  pub 
lishing  this  daily  record  of  remarkable  events  and  occur 


A    MANUSCRIPT    JOURNAL.  59 

rences ;  for  v-hich  contributions  are  respectfully*  solicited 
from  all  lovers  of  light  literature.  In  the  confident  expecta 
tion  of  receiving  the  cordial  support  of  the  community,  we 
have  only  to  announce  that  contributions  will  be  received  at 
our  office  near  the  cook's  galley,  where  terms  of  subscription 
and  full  particulars  may  be  learned." 

Next  morning  accordingly,  and  with  one  or  two  exceptions 
in  squally  weather,  every  successive  morning  that  we  re 
mained  on  board,  there  regularly  appeared  a  sheet  of  mis 
cellaneous  matter,  written  in  a  plain  legible  hand ;  it  was 
attached  by  a  string  to  the  cook's  galley,  and  extensively 
read  by  sailors  and  soldiers,  exciting  considerable  merriment 
and  good-humoured  criticism.  Several  of  these  fugitive 
pieces,  written  by  Nutt,  I  preserved  until  lately,  and  as 
a  specimen  of  his  humour,  and  a  sample  of  the  Journal,  I 
insert  one  or  two  of  them. 


"  SOMETHING    IN    THE    WIND. 

"Last  evening  before  going  to  press,  we  could  see  with 
half  a  glance  of  our  weather  eye  that  there  was  something 
serious  in  the  wind,  something  exceedingly  ominous  looking, 
in  short,  something  more  than  merely  dirty  weather.  The 
term  dirty  weather,  by  the  bye,  we  may  as  well  remark  for 
the  information  of  several  and  upwards  of  our  readers  not 
perhaps  aware  of  the  fact,  being  a  vague  definite  term,  gene 
rally  used  by  spoony  individuals  in  the  vain  efforts  they 
make  to  stimulate  indifference,  and  conceal  their  apprehen 
sion  of  a  severe  blow.  Instantaneously  stopping  the  press, 
we  immediately  hurried  upon  deck,  and  found  that,  as  usual, 
we  were  tolerably  correct  in  our  surmise.  In  fact,  there  were 


60  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    JJV    MEXICO. 

several  palpable  and  distinct  indications  of  a  stiffener  to 
wind'ard,  sufficiently  alarming  to  the  owners  of  weak  or 
delicate  nerves  ;  who,  if  they  cannot  resolve  upon  leaving 
such  articles  ashore,  are  most  decidedly  in  the  wrong  box 
with  them  aboard.  On  going  for'ard  to  where  the  second 
mate — one  of  those  hardy  weather-beaten  sons  of  Neptune 
with  whom  we  are  on  tolerably  familiar  terms — was  stand 
ing  gazing  at  the  rigging,  we  asked  his  private  opinion  of 
things  in  general,  and  the  present  rather  critical  aspect  of 
affairs  in  particular.  He  replied  in  his  gruff  '  deep-toned 
voice,'  that  we  are  sure  '  did  not  falter,'  that  we  were  '  a 
going  to  catch  particular  d — n — n,  and  no  mistake.'  In  the 
meantime,  the  gallant  crew  of  the  Albatross  behaved  with 
the  cool  decision  one  naturally  expects  to  characterise  a 
crew,  composed  principally  of  freeborn  and  full-blooded 
Yankee  sailors.  We  distinctly  observed  one  gallant  fellow 
while  holding  on  by  a  bowline  waiting  for  orders,  delibe 
rately  put  his  hand  into  his  breeches  pocket.  This  reminds 
us  that  we  have  heard  sneering  sceptics  deny  the  existence 
of  pockets  in  sailors'  smallclothes,  a  malignant  slander, 
which  we  here  refute  in  tire  most  emphatic  manner,  as  tho 
egregiously  contemptible  fabrication  of  ignorant  and  pre 
sumptuous  blockheads.  This  gallant  son  of  JSTeptune,  \ve 
reiterate,  putting  his  hand  into  his  breeches  pocket,  drew 
from  thence  a  plug  of  Virginia  tobacco,  and  eyeing  it  with  a 
look  of  affection,  as  if  calculating  the  probability  of  its 
being  the  last  time  it  should  ever  express  its  fragrant  juice, 
he  heaved  a  sigh,  took  a  vigorous  bite,  returned  the  plug  to 
his  pocket,  and  stood  calmly  awaiting  the  order  of  his  supe 
rior.  In  the  meantime,  the  '  blustering  railer,  rude  Boreas,' 
seeing  our  state  of  preparation,  and  that  we  were  not  to  be 
easily  hove  aback,  or  finished  with  a  blow,  sneaked  off  to 
le'ward  ;  where,  should  he  catch  an  unfortunate  skimmer  of 


A    MANUSCRIPT    JOURNAL.  61 

the  seas  napping  while  in  his  present  humour,  with  :>ut  walk 
ing  into  several  of  his  sails  and  spars,  you  may  have  our 
hat.  In  the  meantime,  we  may  look  ..out  for  squalls,  the 
usual  phenomena  of  these  latitudes,  but  in  the  words  of 
the  song — 

"  'With  a  stout  vessel  and  crew," 

We'll  say  let  the  storm,  come  down.' " 


LOST. 


"  A  good  sound  apitite  as  bin  lost  sum  wares  on  board  of 
the  Halbert  Ross  by  a  wery  nice  sort  of  yung  man,  who 
remanes  in  a  most  diskonselat  stat  ever  sense  the  misfortun 
okurd,  not  bein  abel  to  konsum  mor  nor  a  trifel  of  fore  or 
five  pounds  of  bisket  and  pork  in  a  day  sense  the  axident. 
Who  ever  as  found  the  same  on  deliverin  it  at  the  office  of 
the  jurnal,  will  be  ansumly  rewarded.  N.B.  The  yung 
man  as  lost  his'n,  as  found  an  osses,  wich  will  be  glad  to 
part  with  reznabel." 

"  FREE    CONCERTS. 

"  On  our  way  home  last  evening,  we  called  at  the  free  con 
cert  held  in  the  forecastle,  which,  we  were  glad  to  perceive, 
was  very  well  attended.  We  were  highly  amused  with  the 
singing  of  several  of  the  distinguished  vocalists  who  favoured 
the  company  with  their  sweet  voices,  and  which,  as  the 
'  Bard  of  Avon'  somewhere  remarks  on  a  similar  occasion, 
*  To  hear  by  the  noise,  it  sounds  like  du^et  in  contagion.' 
In  fact,  the  singing,  while  it  might  hare  been  worse,  one 
could  scarcely,  under  the  circumstances,  expect  it  to  be 


62  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

much  better.  As  a  slight  qualification,  howe\er,  to  what 
may  appear  our  too  partial  encomiums,  we  would  beg,  with 
all  due  deference  to  tire  superior  judgment  of  the  gentlemen 
having  the  direction  of  the  proceedings  at  these  social  enter 
tainments,  to  oft'er  a  suggestion.  It  is  simply  this,  that  every 
gent,  on  rising  to  sing,  ought  to  state  to  the  company  whe 
ther  the  song  with  which  he  intends  to  favour  them  is  of  the 
comic  or  sentimental  class.  At  a  first  glance,  we  have  no 
doubt  our  honest  suggestion  will  appear  to  the  fastidiously 
critical,  or  the  critically  fastidious,  to  be  invidious  or  uncalled 
for ;  we  are  prepared  for  this  ;  but  it  is  with  a  just  pride  that 
we  announce  to  our  readers,  that  we  have  never  yet  swerved 
to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  or  shrunk  from  the  performance 
of  a  stern  or  necessary  duty  by  the  fear  of  criticism  or  con 
sequence.  With  this  animating  reflection  actuating  us,  we 
candidly  put  the  following  question : — If  sentimental  gents 
will  sing  sentimental  songs,  out  of  all  tune,  and  with  a  comic 
voice,  accent,  and  manner,  and  if  comic  songs  are  treated 
vice  versa,  how  is  an  unsophisticated  person  able  to  compre 
hend  this  inverted  system  of  '  untwisting  all  the  links  that 
tie  the  hidden  soul  of  harmony  ?'  I  assure  my  readers  I 
went  last  night  to  hear  the  singing,  with  a  desire  to  be 
pleased,  if  ever  mortal  critic  had  that  desire  (which  may  be 
questioned).  What  was  the  result  ?  Disgust,  disgust  of  the 
most  unqualified,  unmitigated,  and  contemptuous  character. 
One  of  the  gents  in  the  sentimental  line  tried  '  Alice  Grey' 
and  *  Oft  in  the  Stilly  Night,'  and  the  audience  were  con 
vulsed  with  laughter,  while  a  eomic  gent  tipped  them  '  Nix 
my  Dolly'  in  such  a  doleful  and  lugubrious  style  as  to  cause 
the  company  to  wear  the  air  of  a  funeral-party.  I  need  say 
no  more.  I  trust,  in  future,  that  each  gent,  who  rises  to 
sing  at  these  free  concerts  will  signify  in  a  plain,  straightfor 
ward,  off-hand,  and  up  and  down  manner,  whether  his  song 


GAMBLING    ON    SHIP-BOARD.  63 

is  sentimental  or  comic,  in  which  case  they  may  safely  cal 
culate  on  the  favour  and  slightly  qualified  applause  of 

"DANIEL  DAMPER." 

Among  the  methods  adopted  to  pass  time  on  board,  card- 
playing  was  the  most  popular  and  engrossing.  Non-com 
missioned  officers  and  privates,  seated  in  groups  on  the  fore 
castle  in  fine  weather,  and  between  decks  when  it  rained, 
played  at  the  game  of  poker  from  morning  till  night.  Poker 
is  the  national  game  of  cards  in  America.  It  is  played  by 
gamblers  of  all  classes,  to  the  exclusion  of  almost  all  other 
modes  of  gambling,  and  being  a  peculiarly  exciting  game, 
it  exerts  an  inconceivably  fascinating  influence  over  its 
votaries.  During  our  present  voyage,  I  have  frequently  seen 
a  private  soldier  rise  from  a  single  sitting  the  winner  of  forty 
or  fifty  dollars  ;  and  in  a  few  hours,  having  again  sat  down 
to  play,  he  would  probably  have  lost  it  all,  and  as  much 
more  as  he  could  borrow,  without  seeming  either  much  ele 
vated  or  depressed  by  the  smiles  or  frowns  of  the  fickle  god 
dess.  It  may  surprise  some  how  soldiers  could  be  in  posses 
sion  of  such  large  sums  of  money.  It  happened  simply 
thus  : — Two  of  the  companies  had  been  paid  a  short  time 
previous  to  their  embarkation,  the  men  had  thus  no  opportu 
nity  of  getting  rid  of  their  superabundant  capital ;  an  opera 
tion  which,  when  ashore,  they  usually  perform  with  astonish 
ing  facility.  A  private's  pay  in  the  Infantry  is  seven  dollars 
a  month,  and  he  is  paid  every  two  months  ;  one  dollar 
a  month  is  retained  until  the  expiration  of  his  service.  Thus 
at  pay-day  the  private  receives  twelve  dollars  ;  the  sergeant 
twenty-six  ;  the  corporal  eighteen  ;  the  musicians  sixteen  ;  no 
pay  being  retained  from  any  of  these  ranks  except  the  pri 
vate.  Most  of  the  soldiers  are  more  or  less  addicted  to  gam 
bling,  and  thus  large  sums  of  money  are  frequently  in  the 


64  ADVENTURES    OF    A  SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

hands  of  the  practised  gamblers  about  pay-time,  sometimes 
amounting  to  hundreds  of  dollars  in  possession  of  five  or  six 
of  the  most  skilful.  Gambling  is  strictly  prohibited  by  the 
rules  of  the  service,  but  the  difficulty  of  enforcing  the  rule, 
owing  partly  to  laxity  of  discipline,  and  partly  to  the  exceed 
ingly  badly-arranged  system  of  paying  the  soldiers  two 
months'  pay  at  a  time,  in  place  of  daily  or  weekly,  renders 
the  prohibition  a  dead  letter. 

We  had  an  excellent  regimental  band  on  board,  and 
in  fine  weather  our  officers  had  it  up  on  deck  to  play  for  an 
hour  or  two  in  the  evening.  This  practice  had  a  markedly 
enlivening  effect  upon  the  spirits,  and  must  have  helped 
materially  to  promote  health,  as  it  evidently  exerted  a  bene 
ficial  influence  in  promoting  a  cheerful  hilarity  and  good- 
humour  among  the  men.  It  was  interesting  to  observe  the 
sudden  change  from  blank  and  listless  apathy  to  brisk  and 
animated  cheerfulness  which  some  well-known  and  favourite 
air  produced  in  the  countenances  of  all ;  the  strains  of 
"  Auld  lang  syne"  calling  forth  the  latent  smile  on  cheeks 
and  lips,  and  kindling  the  languid  eye  of  the  most  melan 
choly  and  morose.  My  friend  Nutt,  when  remarking  on  this 
effect  one  morning,  said  he  could  almost  believe  in  the 
authenticity  of  the  miracles  ascribed  to  the  music  of 
Amphion  and  Orpheus,  as  he  had  himself  witnessed  a  most 
astounding  transformation  effected  in  the  person  of  the  boat 
swain  of  the  ship,  whose  "  savage  breast "  had  been  so 
thoroughly  soothed  by  music's  magic  spell,  that  he  had 
observed  him  once,  while  under  its  powerful  influence,  talk 
ing  in  the^  tones,  manner,  and  accent  of  a  civilized  being. 

I  mentioned  that  Nutt  had  been  on  board  a  British  man- 
of-war  during  a  three  years'  cruise.  One  day,  when  seated 
in  a  quiet  corner  of  the  deck,  I  reminded  him  of  a  promise 
lie  had  formerly  made  to  give  me  a  sketch  of  the  events  of 


A    YARN    IN    PROSPECT.  C5 

his  earlier  years,  which  had  resulted  in  a  young  man  of  good 
abilities,  and  brought  up  to  a  good  trade,  being  seduced  into 
such  rambling  and  unsatisfactory  modes  of  life  as  that  of  a 
sailor  or  a  soldier.  After  a  preliminary  "  well  here  goes  for 
a  yarn,"  he  commenced  the  following  narrative.  As  it  pro 
fesses  to  be  a  true  chapter  in  the  early  life  of  my  comrade,  I 
will  give  it  as  nearly  as  I  can  recollect  in  his  own  manner, 
devoting  a  chapter  specially  to  the  purpose. 


CHAPrER  VI. 

A  Modern  Soldier  of  Fortune. 

I  SUPPOSE  you  know  that  I  am  a  Cockney.  I  was  born  and 
brought  up  within  the  sound  of  those  famous  bells  of  Bow, 
whose  voice,  speaking  through  the  legends  of  childhood,  has 
warned  many  ars  incipient  mayor  and  alderman  to  turn 
again,  when  ba]f  inclined  to  "cut"  the  paternal  mansion, 
and  the  precincts  of  their  guardians'  influence  ;  and  who, 
following  the  admonition  of  the  affectionate  monitors,  have 
risen  to  emulate  the  wealth  at  least,  if  not  the  fame  or  the 
virtues,  of  the  renowned  Whittington,  of  "  thrice  Lord  Mayor 
of  London  "  celebrity.  1  really  can't  recollect  whether  those 
bells  warned  me  or  not  on  the  morning  when  I  resolved  upon 
leaving  "the  old  house  at  home,"  and  looking  ou*.  a  little 
into  the  world.  Certainly,  if  they  did,  I  paid  very  little 
attention  to  them,  being  wholly  taken  up  with  my  object  of 
getting  off  unnoticed  by  any  of  my  acquaintances,  who 
might,  when  they  heard  I  was  gone,  be  likely  to  indicate  the 
route  I  had  taken,  in  which  case  I  was  afraid  my  father 
would  follow  and  bring  me  back. 

My  father,  who  was  a  carver  and  gilder  in  extensive  busi 
ness,  had  brought  me  up  to  the  same  trade,  which  I  had 
learned  with  facility  and  aptitude,  and  for  a  year  or  two  pre 
vious  to  my  leaving  him,  though  then  only  seventeen  years 
of  age,  I  had  been  of  great  use  to  him,  as  I  did  as  much 
work,  and  of  as  good  quality,  as  many  of  the  journeymen  to 
whom  he  was  giving  employment.  My  mother  died  when  I 


AN    UNHAPPY    HOME.  67 

\vas  a  child  in  the  arms  of  a  nurse,  and  before  I  was  old 
enough  to  recollect  the  event,  my  father  had  married  again. 
My  stepmother  was  a  very  good  sort  of  woman  as  stepmo 
thers  go,  and  I  had  no  fault  to  find  with  her  treatment  of 
me  ;  perhaps  she  liked  her  own  children,  of  whom  she  had 
three  by  my  father,  better  than  my  sister  and  myself,  and  it 
is  probable  that  home  might  have  been  happier  if  my  own 
mother  had  lived.  Still  our  stepmother  never  showed  any 
marked  preference  for  her  own  children,  nor  ever  treated  my 
sister  or  me  harshly  or  unjustly  ;  and  could  not  be  blamed  if 
she  did  riot  possess  all  that  warmth  of  affection  which  a 
mother  can  have  only  for  her  own.  My  father  unfortunately 
had  a  quick  and  violent  temper,  which  was  a  good  deal 
aggravated  by  a  habit  of  tippling  into  which  he  had  fallen  ; 
and  frequently  for  trifling  causes  of  offence,  when  he  hap 
pened  to  be  in  one  of  his  ill-'.empered  moods,  he  beat  me  so 
severely  that  at  last  I  became  apprehensive  he  would  one  day 
do  me  a  serious  injury.  It  was  after  receiving  one  of  these 
drubbings  that  I  resolved  upon  leaving  home.  I  was  then 
about  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  wanted  four  years  of  being 
out  of  my  apprenticeship  ;  my  father  having  bound  me  by 
indenture  to  serve  him  for  seven  years  ;  but,  as  I  said  before, 
I  could  work  at  the  business  as  well  as  a  good  many  of  the 
journeymen.  Here,  in  America  (and  this  is  one  thing  in 
which  I  must  give  Jonathan  the  credit  of  having  gone  rather 
ahead  of  the  old  countries),  it  matters  not  whether  a  man 
serves  an  apprenticeship,  or  how  he  acquires  the  skill  or  pro 
ficiency  to  work  at  his  trade  or  calling.  "  Is  he  able  to  do 
his  work  ?"  is  the  only  question  asked,  and  ability  is  the  only 
test  required.  But  in  England  the  case  is  widely  different, 
as  I  had  soon  reason  to  deplore.  I  was  leaving  home  with 
the  intention  of  working  at  my  trade  in  some  country  town 
out  of  the  knowledge,  and  beyond  the  reach,  of  my  father 


68  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

I  had  only  about  fifty  shillings  when  I  left  home,  twenty  of 
which  I  got  from  my  sister,  whom  I  made  my  cohtidant,  arid 
who  did  all  she  could  to  alter  my  determination,  Init  seeing 
that  I  was  firmly  resolved  upon.. going,  she  gave  me  a  sove 
reign,  making  me  promise  to  write  to  her,  a  promise  which  I 
never  fulfilled. 

I  had  no  fixed  intention  of  going  to  any  place  in  particu 
lar  when  I  left  our  house  ;  but  in  passing  a  coach-office 
where  a  coachful  of  passengers  was  on  the  point  of  stalling 
for  Portsmouth,  and  on  inquiry,  learning  there  was  room  for 
one  on  the  outside,  I  took  a  seat,  and  was  soon  rapidly  whirl 
ing  along  the  road.  We  soon  left  the  dome  of  St.  Paul's  an 
indistinct,  dim,  and  visionary  outline,  and  away  we  burst 
with  a  glorious  canter  into  the  fresh  air  of  the  open  country, 
where  even  the  cloud  of  the  foggy  Babylon  itself  was  soon 
left  far  behind.  There  was  a  young  sailor  on  the  top  of  the 
coach,  going  to  Portsmouth  to  join  his  vessel,  having  been  up 
in  London  on  a  visit  to  his  friends.  He  and  I  were  soon 
engaged  in  conversation,  when  he  gave  me  a  long  account  of 
his  cruise  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  the  adventures  of  his 
last  three  years  on  board  a  man-of-war.  He  described  the 
life  of  a  sailor  in  glowing  terms,  and  wondered  how  any  per 
son  could  prefer  a  dull  life  on  shore,  who  had  the  choice  of 
the  merry  and  easy  life  led  on  board  one  of  Her  Majesty's 
ships.  Though  I  was  much  amused  with  his  conversation,  I 
did  not  feel  in  the  least  inclined  to  wish  myself  one  of  the 
jolly  crewrs  he  talked  of.  More  especially  as  he  spoke  of 
some  of  the  officers  he  had  served  under  as  regular  Tartars, 
one  of  whose  eccentricities  consisted  in  making  a  few  of  the 
men  kiss  the  gunner's  daughter  of  a  morning  before  break 
fast.  This  kissing  the  gunner's  daughter,  which  rather  puz 
zled  me  at  first,  I  found  on  inquiry  was  an  amusing  practice 
they  had  of  tying  a  sailor  up  to  the  Ireech  of  a  gun,  and 


A    RUNAWAY    APPRENTICE.  69 

inflicting  two  dozen  lashes  on  his  -bare  back  with  a  cat  o'nine 
tails,  by  the  hands  of  the  boatswain. 

We  arrived  in  Portsmouth  early  in  the  evening,  and  I 
accompanied  the  young  sailor  to  a  tavern,  where  we  had 
supper  together,  and  engaged  lodgings  for  the  night.  We 
afterwards  went  to  the  theatre,  and  passed  the  night  away 
pleasantly  together.  I  told  him  I  had  left  home,  and  was 
strongly  persuaded  by  him  to  enter  the  vessel  in  which  he 
was  going  ;  it  would  take  me,  he  said,  on  the  ratings  as  a  boy 
for  a  three  years'  cruise,  during  which  I  might  learn  to  be  a 
good  sailor.;  the  vessel  was  for  the  West  India  station  and 
would  sail  in  a  few  daysf  But  I  steadily  resisted  all  his  argu 
ments,  thinking  I  had  only  to  look  for  employment  to  find 
plenty  of  it,  and  not  having  the  slightest  desire  for  a  sea  life, 
which  I  had  always  pictured  to  myself  as  one  of  great  hard 
ship  and  ill-usage.  Next  morning  after  breakfast,  I  went 
down  to  the  Point  with  him,  and  saw  him  take  a  boat  to  go 
on  board  of  his  vessel,  Avhich  lay  at  Spithead. 

I  wandered  about  Portsmouth  for  the  remainder  of  that 
and  several  succeeding  days,  looking  for  employment  at  my 
trade  ;  but  though  I  found  several  shops  where  the  masters 
would  have  been  willing  to  employ  me  if  I  had  been  able  to 
show  that  I  had  served  an  apprenticeship,  I  soon  found  that 
without  that,  I  had  no  chance.  It  was  in  vain  that  I  offered 
to  work  for  half  wages,  it  was  quite  against  the  rules  of  the 
trade,  and  though  tall  and  stout  of  my  age,  any  person  might 
see  I  was  too  young  to  have  served  an  apprenticeship;  in  fact 
I  believe  most  of  them  guessed  the  true  state  of  the  case,  that 
I  was  only  a  runaway  boy.  This  was  a  serious  disappoint 
ment  to  my  hopes ;  however,  partly  through  pride,  and 
partly  through  a  dread  of  the  punishment  I  would  receive  in 
all  probability  from  my  father  if  I  returned,  I  determined  to 
Btay  away  until  reduced  to  the  last  extremity.  In  the  mean- 


70  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO 

time  I  resolved  to  try  the  country  towns,  thinking'  it  possible 
that  by  jobbing,  and  showing  my  ability  to  work.,  together 
with  offering  to  work  for  low  wages,  I  might  eventually,  per 
haps,  succeed  in  finding  permanent  employment.  Flattering 
myself  with  this  idea,  I  started  for  the  country.  I  travelled 
through  several  counties  on  foot,  sometimes  getting  a  few 
days'  work  in  one  town,  and  then  compelled  to  set  off  to  ano 
ther  to  look  for  fresh  employment.  During  this  period  I 
often  dined  off  beans,  or  turnips,  in  the  fields,  and  very  glad 
I  was  to  get  them  too  ;  and  I  have  several  times  been  glad 
to  find  a  bed  in  some  convenient  hayrick.  At  length  one 
evening  I  was  standing  at  a  toll  bridge,  fairly  beaten  up  ; 
starved  with  hunger,  tired,  and  footsore.  To  make  matters 
worse,  the  churlish  tollman,  cursing  my  impudence  in  at 
tempting  to  set  up  a  plea  of  poverty  to  induce  him  to  let  me 
pass  free,  threatened  to  set  his  dog  on  me  if  I  did  not  take 
myself  off  the  same  way  I  came.  "  Friend,  thou  art  sparing 
in  good  deeds,  and  liberal  in  thy  use  of  bad  words,  I  fear," 
said  a  mild  voice  a  short  distance  behind  me,  and  turning 
round  I  saw  a  good-natured  looking  gentleman,  in  the  broad 
brimmed  hat  and  plain  coat  of  the  Quaker.  The  tollman 
became  very  suddenly  red  in  the  face  at  this  address,  not 
having  observed  the  approach  of  the  old  gentleman,  who 
probably  had  some  control  over  him  in  his  situation,  as  I  saw 
him  talking  to  him  for  some  time  in  a  tone  of  rebuke.  On 
going  away  he  motioned  me  to  follow,  which  I  was  not  slow 
to  do,  you  may  be  sure,  especially  as  upon  glancing  at  the 
tollman  I  saw  he  did  not  consider  himself  much  obliged  to 
me  for  the  lecture  he  had  just  received  from  the  Quaker. 

The  old  gentleman,  who  though  stout  and  healthy  looking, 
and  of  a  cheerful  and  ruddy  complexion,  was,  I  should  think, 
close  upon  sixty  years  of  age,  waited  until  I  came  up  to  him, 
when  he  began  to  ask  a  few  questions  relating  to  my  pre- 


f  THE    BENEVOLENT    QUAKER.  7l 

pent  condition,  and  how  I  came  to  be  travelling  in  that 
destitute  manner.  I  told  him  I  had  been  travelling  arid 
looking  for  employment  as  a  carver  and  gilder,  mentioning 
some  of  the  towns  at  which  I  had  found  a  job,  but  that  not 
being  able  to  find  permanent  employment  in  the  country,  I 
was  making  my  way  back  to  Portsmouth.  But  he  was  not 
satisfied  with  this  statement  apparently,  which  I  imagined 
he  suspected  left  the  main  point  untold,  and  continued  to 
question  me,  until  I  became  fairly  puzzled,  and  involved  in 
several  contradictions.  You  will  think  it  strange  that  a  big 
lad  of  seventeen  should  begin  to  cry  at  an  old  fellow  asking 
him  a  few  simple  questions,  but  such  was  the  case  though. 
It  is  now  six  years  ago,  and  I  recollect  it  as  if  it  were  yester 
day  ;  it  is  strange  how  easily  the  head  pumps  are  set  a-going 
sometimes.  The  kind  and  benevolent  tones  of  the  old 
gentleman  as  he  questioned  me,  mingled  with  a  feeling  of 
shame  at  the  incoherence  of  my  replies,  fairly  overcame  me ; 
at  the  same  time  I  was  weak,  and  probably  hysterical,  from 
a  long  abstinence  from  food,  and  so  sitting  down  by  the 
roadside  I  hid  my  face  in  my  hands,  and  blubbered  like  a 
big  schoolboy  after  a  whipping. 

On  recovering,  I  found  the  old  gentleman  was  still  along 
side,  evidently  resolved  to  keep  me  in  tow.  "  Come,  my 
lad,"  said  he,  when  I  had  got  up  on  my  feet,  "  thou  art  tired 
and  footsore,  my  house  is  not  far  off,  come  along  with  me 
and  thou  mayest  have  thy  feet  washed,  a  supper,  and  a  bed, 
and  if  thee  doesn't  like  to  tell  thy  story  I  shall  not  ask  thee." 
Rousing  myself  up,  and  feeling  ashamed  at  the  false  state 
ments  in  which  I  had  been  detected,  and  which  had  led  to 
the  singular  childish  symptoms  I  had  exhibited,  while  travel 
ling  along  the  road,  I  gave  him  a  true  and  succinct  relation 
of  my  circumstances,  and  my  reason  for  quitting  home. 
When  I  had  concluded,  he  said  he  thought  he  could  give 


72  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER*  IN    MEXICO. 

me  some  employment  that  would  occupy  me  a  few  days, 
and  during  that  time  my  feet  would  recover,  and  he  would 
think  of  some  advice  that  might  be  useful  to  me. 

We  soon  arrived  at  the  old  gentleman's  house,  a  genteel 
cottage  a  little  off  the  highway,  with  a  fine  ornamented 
lawn  in  front,  and  a  spacious  garden  in  rear.  His  wife,  a 
fine,  cheerful,  quiet  looking  old  lady,  came  to  the  gate  to 
meet  him.  He  told  her  in  a  few  words  the  circumstance 
under  which  he  had  found  me,  and  it  was  speedily  evident 
bv  her  actions,  that  she  rejoiced  at  the  opportunity  of  exer 
cising  her  benevolence.  An  abundant  supply  of  warm 
water,  with  soap  and  towel,  were  speedily  at  my  disposal, 
and  having  washed  my  feet,  I  was  furnished  with  clean 
stockings  and  "slippers.  I  then  partook  of  an  excellent 
supper,  to  which  I  did  ample  justice,  and  soon  afterwards  was 
Bhown  to  a  good  bed.  I  was  treated  with  unvarying  kind 
ness  while  I  remained  with  these  excellent  people,  a  period  of 
eight  days,  during  which  I  cleaned,  and  freshly  gilded,  the 
frames  of  a  number  of  pictures  belonging  to  them.  I 
received  much  excellent  advice  from  them  both,  and  the  old 
gentleman,  to  whom  I  had  faithfully  promised  to  proceed 
home,  gave  me  a  letter  addressed  to  my  father,  and  two  sove 
reigns,  on  the  morning  I  left.  I  had  not  earned  more  than 
half  the  sum,  but  I  knew  he  calculated  on  paying  my  coach 
fare  to  London  in  this  manner,  and  I  would  have  pained  him 
by  refusing  it.  Having  bid  my  kind  and  benevolent  friends  a 
sincere  farewell,  I  travelled  to  the  next  town,  which  was 
only  a  few  miles  off,  and  there  took  the  stage  coach  to 
Portsmouth.  But  though  I  had  promised  to  go  home,  when 
staying  with  the  worthy  Quakers,  and  intended  it  also  T 
believe,  now  when  away  from  their  influence,  the  ola 
motives  of  pride  and  fear  were  in  full  operation  again ;  and 


AN    ORATION.  73 

before  I  arrived  at  Portsmouth,  I  had  resolved  to  enter  a 
man-of-war. 

Accordingly,  to  make  a  long  story  short,  I  entered  as  a 
boy  on  board  the  frigate  Blazer,  at  that  time  fitting  out  for  a 
three  years'  cruise  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  I  cannot  say  that 
I  expected  to  lead  a  very  easy  or  pleasant  life  when  I  enter 
ed  Her  Majesty's  service  ;  it  need  not  surprise  you  therefore 
to  learn,  that  for  some  time  after  I  joined,  having  suffered  a 
good  deal  from  sea-sickness,  as  we  encountered  several  stiff 
gales  before  leaving  Spithead,  I  felt  my  bitterest  anticipations 
of  the  discomfort  of  a  sea  life  fully  realized. 

We  lay  for  a  fortnight  at  Spithead,  during  which  time  we 
were  occupied  chiefly  in  getting  in  stores  and  provisions.  A 
few  days  before  sailing,  our  captain  came  on  board,  and 
having  mustered  the  men,  he  read  the  commission  appoint 
ing  him  to  the  command  of  the  frigate.  When  he  had  done 
reading,  a  few  of  the  men  were  commencing  to  cheer. 

"  Hold  your  d d  jaw,"  he  shouted  in  the  voice  of  a 

Stentor.  "  Now  men,  mind  what  I  say  to  you,  I  will  have 
no  cheering  in  this  ship  without  my  orders.  If  you  should 
have  the  luck  to  board  an  enemy's  vessel,  you  may  cheer 
like  devils  the  moment  you  set  foot  on  her  decks,  but  not  a 
moment  before.  When  you  are  paid  off  and  ashore,  too, 
after  our  cruise  is  over,  I  have  no  objection  to  your  cheering 
as  much  as  you  think  proper  ;  but  while  on  board  this  ship, 
mind  I  wish  you  to  recollect  it — no  cheering  if  you  please, 
except  at  an  order  from  me.  As  you  are  all  here  I  will  take 
the  liberty  of  making  a  few  remarks  which  may  save  some 
misunderstanding  in  future.  We  sail  in  a  few  days  for  the 
coast  of  Africa,  I  have  taken  the  command,  and  as  all  reports 
will  henceforth  be  forwarded  to  me,  I  hope  that  all  irregula 
rities  of  conduct  will  immediately  cease.  I  am  exceedingly 

4  * 


74  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

averse  to  corporal  punishment,  but,  however  painful  to  my 
feelings,  there  are  some  crimes  for  which  I  feel  that  I  shall 
be  compelled  to  award  it  if  distinctly  proved  ;  these  are 
drunkenness,  disrespect  to  officers,  and  disobedience  of  orders. 
I  will  be  happy  to  render  you  every  indulgence  in  my  power 
while  you  are  under  my  command,  and  shall  use  every  means 
to  make  you  as  comfortable  as  possible  ;  which  I  trust  you  on 
your  part  will  do  your  endeavour  to  merit.  Now,  my  lads, 
you  may  go." 

Such  was  the  address  of  our  captain,  who  did  not  seem  to 
be  known  to  many  of  the  crew  except  by  hearsay,  which 
gave  him  the  name  of  a  "  bit  of  a  sharper,"  or,  in  other 
words,  a  strict  disciplinarian.  The  short  speech  he  had  just 
delivered,  which  was  freely  commented  upon,  I  could  plainly 
see  had  lowered  him  a  few  pegs  in  the  estimation  of  the 

men,  and  especially  among  the  old  tars.  "  O,  d all 

such  canting  humbug  about  painful  to  his  feel  ings,  and 
'compelled  to  award  it.'  Why  the  deuce  didn't  he  tell  the 
brats  of  middies,  when  they  wanted  a  man  flogged,  just  to 
report  him  sulky,  or  worse  for  liquor,  and  he  would  order 
him  two  dozen,"  grumbled  an  old  veteran,  as  a  few  of  them 
sat  discussing  the  subject  on  the  evening  watch.  "  For  my 
part,"  he  continued,  "  I  never  knew  one  of  your  very  feeling 
gentlemen  but  what  was  devilish  good  at  making  a  poor 
fellow's  back  feel."  "  The  very  blessed  same  remark  I  made 
to  Sammy  here  as  we  came  aft,"  responded  another  old  tar. 
"  What'b  the  use  of  trying  to  come  to  windward  of  an  old 
sailor  in  that  way  ;  why  don't  he  out  with  it  in  plain  English, 
somewheres  in  thi?  fashion  : — My  lads,  I  have  always  been 
in  the  habit  of  seeing  .plenty  of  flogging,  which  I  think  a 
good  custom,  and  means  to  keep  it  up." 

I  must  confess  that  I  thought  these  old  tars  a  compVte 
set  of  croakers,  not  being  able  to  perceive  anything  in  the 


FLOGGING    AT    SEA.  75 

spcecli  to  call  for  such  illiberal  construction,  and  severe 
animadversion.  In  fact,  for  my  own  part,  I  had  considered 
the  speech  most  admirable,  both  in  matter  and  manner.  But 
a  few  months  on  board  fully  verified  the  correctness  of  their 
prognostication,  which  I  found  had  been  the  sound  deduction 
of  observation  and  experience.  The  fact  of  the  case  is,  that, 
if  a  captain  is  an  enemy  to  flogging  he  strikes  it  altogether 
from  his  catalogue  of  punishments ;  and  therefore  never 
makes  allusion  to  it  when  addressing  his  men,  any  more  than 
if  he  was  not  aware  of  its  existence.  There  are  a  number  of 
captains  in  the  British  service,  who  have  abolished  flogging 
within  their  own  jurisdiction,  as  effectually  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  as  if  it  had  been  done  by  act  of  parliament.  And 
this  also,  very  much  to  the  improvement  of  the  discipline  of 
their  respective  crews  ;  and  thus  practically  giving  the  lie  to 
those  who  insist  upon  the  necessity  for  the  continuation  of 
this  degrading  punishment.  But  our  captain  was  none  of 
these,  and  the  cat  was  by  far  too  often  in  the  boatswain's 
hands.  A  person  who  has  never  been  at  sea  in  a  man-of- 
war,  with  a  captain  who  has  got  the  idea  that  flogging  is 
necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  discipline,  would  not  believe 
the  extent  to  which  this  punishment  is  administered  in  some 
vessels.  I  believe  that  during  the  first  six  months  that  I  was 

O 

aboard,  nearly  one  half  of  our  ship's  crew  had  received  a 
flogging.  The  merest  trifle,  a  pair  of  trousers  not  perfectly 
clean,  or  having  a  grease  spot  on  them  at  a  Sunday's  muster, 
or  an  article  accidentally  left  out  of  the  clothes  bag,  when 
the  vessel  was  inspected  by  the  officers  of  the  watch,  was 
quite  sufficient  to  qualify  a  man  of  even  good  character  to 
receive  this  disgraceful  punishment.  The  boys  were  not 
stripped  and  flogged  with  the  cats,  except  in  extraordinary 
cases,  but  when  found  fault  with  by  an  officer,  the  boatswain 
was  instructed  to  give  them  a  taste  of  discipline.  This  con- 


76  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

sisted  in  a  piece  of  three  quarter  inch  rope  with  a  knot  at 
the  end,  called  a  colt,  which  the  boatswain  carries  in  his 
pocket,  being  smartly  applied  to  the  back  and  shoulders  in  a 
series  of  successive  jerks ;  an  exhibition  highly  amusing  to 
the  spectator,  but  producing  the  most  startling  effect  upon 
the  recipients,  whom  it  causes  to  throw  themselves  into  the 
strangest  contortions  and  grotesque  antics  imaginable.  I 
sometimes  had  a  taste*  of  this  discipline,  and  must  say  that  I 
did  not  find  it  much  calculated  to  increase  my  liking  for  the 
sea  service. 

There  was  a  bag  kept  by  the  boatswain  on  board  the 
Blazer,  which  was  called  "  the  boatswain's  save  all,"  by  the 
sailors.  In  it  were  carefully  stowed  by  the  boatswain,  all 
the  clothes  found  between  decks  which  were  left  out  of  their 
owners'  clothes-bags,  when  the  decks  were  inspected  by  the 
officers  of  the  watch.  Once  a  week,  at  a  stated  hour,  the 
clothes  were  turned  out  of  the  bag,  the  officer  of  the  watrh 
standing  by  to  see  who  claimed  them,  as  the  party  so  claim 
ing  was  marked  down  for  a  dozen  lashes  for  each  article  ; 
which  he  received  at  the  regular  punishment  hour  next 
morning.  Very  few  of  these  articles  were  claimed  of 
course,  most  of  the  men  preferring  to  lose  the  article,  even 
though  compelled  to  go  to  the  purser  and  draw  a  new  one, 
being  in  this  case  a  virtual  fine  equivalent  to  the  value  of 
the  article,  which  was  charged  against  their  wages  in  the 
purser's  books.  But  we  had  several  old  salts  aboard  who 
never  paid  the  purser  for  an  article  of  clothing  while  on  the 
cruise.  One  of  these,  when  he  saw  an  article  of  clothing 
produced  from  the  bag,  which  he  considered  worth  taking  a 
dozen  for,  deliberately  walked  up,  and  picking  up  the  article 
— shirt,  trousers,  or  whatever  it  might  be,  he  would  begin  to 

apostrophise  it  as  that  d d  unlucky  shirt,  or  jacket,  that 

was  always  getting  him  into  a  scrape.      The  officer  of  the 


A    SHORT   EPISODE.  77 

watch   who   would   know  the    old    fellow  to  bo  a  regular 

O 

customer  on  these  occasions,  smiling  at  the  ruse,  would 
mark  him  down  for  his  dozen ;  and  careless  of  the  iests  of 
his  comrades,  the  old  tar  marched  off'  with  his  trophy.  The 
unclaimed  goods  were  thrown  overboard. 

There  was  a  young  boy  of  the  name  of  Billings,  who  died 
on  board  the  Blazer  when  we  had  been  about  eight  months 
out,  and  who  all  hands  agreed  in  thinking  fell  a  victim  to  a 
flogging  which  he  received  on  board.  lie  was  no  great 
favourite  in  the  ship,  yet  on  account  of  his  youth  everybody 
seemed  to  pity  him  ;  for  strange  to  say,  old  fellows  who  are 
careless  of  a  flogging  in  their  own  persons,  often  show  sym 
pathy  for  others  whose  spirits  they  see  broken  down  under 
the  agony  of  shame  caused  by  the  degradation  of  the 
punishment.  Billings  was  a  remarkably  clever  and  hand 
some  boy,  about  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age,  rather 
delicate  in  his  appearance,  and  exceedingly  proud-spirKed 
and  fiery  in  his  temper.  It  was  supposed  that  he  had  run 
away  from  home,  and  that  his  people  were  in  better  circum 
stances  than  common  ;  but  he  was  very  reserved  in  his 
communications,  and  never  made  a  confidant  of  any  person 
until  near  his  death  ;  when  he  told  the  doctor,  who  had 
been  very  kind  to  him,  something  which  he  wished  him 
to  write  to  his  mother  who  lived  at  Bristol.  The  doctor 
tried  to  persuade  him  that  he  would  live  to  go  home  and  see 
her  himself,  but  nothing  would  content  him,  until  the  doctor 
had  taken  down  what  he  wished  him  to  write,  together  with 
his  mother's  address,  in  a  memorandum  book.  Shortly 
after,  the  captain  came  down  with  the  doctor  to  see  the  boy. 
The  captain  spoke  very  kindly  to  him  and  asked  him  if 
lie  would  like  some  wine.  A  tear  rolled  over  the  wasted 
cheek  of  poor  Billings,  as  he  whispered  something  into  the 
ear  of  the  captain,  who  seeing  his  lips  move,  stooped  to 


78  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER,    IN    MEXICO. 

hear  liim.  I  was  attending  on  him  that  morning,  as  wo 
took  it  in  turns,  but  although  standing  pretty  near,  I  could 
not  hear  a  word  of  what  he  said  to  the  captain.  Whatever 
it  was,  it  seemed  to  affect  him  a  good  deal.  He  told  Bil 
lings  to  keep  up  his  spirits,  that  he  would  send  him  some 
wine,  and  if  there  was  anything  on  hoard  that  he  would  like 
to  eat,  if  the  doctor  permitted,  he  would  order  the  steward 
to  bring  it  to  him.  After  that,  wine,  and  everything  that 
was  supposed  to  be  good  for  him,  was  sent  from  the  captain's 
table  ;  but  it  was  all  of  no  use,  the  poor  fellow  died  a  few 
days  afterwards.  He  had  been  flogged  about  a  month  pre 
viously,  for  calling  a  midshipman  who  was  beating  him  with 
a  rope's  end,  a  bastard ;  since  which  time  he  had  done  no 
duty,  and  constantly  complained  of  a  pain  in  his  chest.  Some 
of  the  old  sailors  said  they  had  seen  cases  of  the  same  sort 
before,  that  it  frequently  happened  to  boys  through  flogging, 
an<\  that  the  boy  Billings  died  heart-broken.  A  few  days' 
convenient  on  bread  and  water  would  have  been  a  far  bet 
ter  punishment  for  this  boy's  offence,  while  the  midshipman 
who  had  caused  this  breach  of  discipline,  by  striking  him, 
(contrary  to  all  good  discipline,  and  the  regulations  of  the 
service,)  might  have  been  put  under  arrest  for  some  time  to 
show  the  captain's  displeasure  at  his  conduct.  Whether  the 
death  of  this  boy  caused  the  alteration-  ©r  not  I  cannot  say, 
but  certainly  the  punishment  of  flogging  was  not  of  such  fre 
quent  occurrence  for  some  time  subsequently. 

It  is  a  strange  fact  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
sailors,  and  more  especially  that  portion  who  oftenest  suffer 
the  infliction,  believe  that  the  service  would  be  ruined  if  the 
custom  of  flogging  were  abolished  in  the  navy.  But  even 
among  the  most  bigoted  tars  of  the  old  school,  this  opinion 
is  fast  wearing  out,  and  the  time  must  soon  come  when  the 
cat  will  be  consigned  to  the  locker  of  Davy  Jones,  in  place 


A    CRUISE    IN    THE    PACIFIC    OCEAN.  79 

of  that  of  the  boatswain ;  and  only  be  recollected  as  one  of 
the  instruments  of  torture  used  in  the  barbarous  ages. 

After  cruising  two  weary  years  on  the  most  monotonous 
and  unhealthy  station  that  ever  a  man-of-war  had  the  ill-luck 
to  be  sent  to,  during  which  we  lost  a  number  of  our  best 
hands  from  fever,  and  made  prize  of  two  slave  vessels,  we 
received  orders  to  proceed  to  the  Pacific.  This  was  good 
news  to  all,  especially  to  those  poor  fellows  who  were  sick 
when  the  order  arrived,  and  who  soon  felt  the  benefit  of  a 
change  of  scene  and  climate.  For  my  own  part  I  was  de 
lighted  with  the  appearance  of  those  enchanting  islands 
of  which  I  had  often  read  when  a  young  boy  with  so  much 
relish,  and  Tahiti  and  a  number  of  others,  seemed  like  scenes 
which  I  recollected  having  visited  in  dreams.  We  some 
times  spent  eight  or  ten  days  in  the  harbour  of  one  of  them 
while  we  refitted,  and  took  in  fresh  water,  fruits,  vegetables, 
and  other  supplies,  and  during  these  periods,  parties  of  us 
were  permitted  to  go  ashore.  I  hacT  now  learned  my  duty 
as  a  sailor  pretty  well,  and  consequently  felt  a  little  more 
reconciled  to  my  situation  than  when  I  first  entered  the 
Blazer.  Indeed,  were  it  not  for  the  perpetual  dread  of  the 
petty  tyranny^  which  his  officer  may  exert  over  him  at  any 
time,  for  faults  real  or  imaginary,  and  of  which  no  sailor 
serving  in  a  vessel  where  flogging  is  customary,  can  ever 
wholly  divest  himself,  a  sailor  on  board  a  man-of-war  would 
not  have  a  bad  time.  For  my  own  part  I  had  begun  to  form 
such  a  liking  for  the  service,  while  cruising  in  these  delicious 
latitudes,  that,  but  for  the  slight  drawback  just  mentioned,  I 
believe  I  would  have  entered  at  the  expiration  of  my  time, 
for  another  three  years'  cruise  in  one  of  Her  Majesty's  ships, 
in  which  case  you  would  have  been  spared  this  long  yarn. 

During  our  cruise  here,  wye  sometimes  overhauled  a 
whaler,  and  on  several  of  these  occasions,  a  sailor  or  two,  on 


80        ADVENTURES  OF  A  SOLDIER  IS  MEXICO. 

the  plea  of  ill-usage,  vc  lunteered  to  enter  our  vessel.  These 
we  always  accepted  when  sufficient  cause  of  complaint  could 
be  shown,  the  captains  of  many  of  those  whalers  being  most 
tyrannical  scoundrels,  and  using  their  men  in  a  most  brutal 
and  cruel  manner  in  many  instances.  When  such  is  the 
case,  the  means  of  redress  in  the  hands  of  the  sailor  are 
as  follows  :  Whenever  a  man-of-war  approaches  near  enough 
to  render  the  signal  distinct,  a  red  or  blue  shirt  is  fastened 
to  some  conspicuous  part  of  the  rigging  of  the  whaler, 
where  it  cannot  remain-  a  dozen  seconds  until  it  is  observed 
by  some  one  on  board  of  the  man-of-war,  and  is  reported  to 
the  officer  of  the  watch.  The  result  of  the  manoeuvre  is, 
that  in  a  very  short  space  of  time,  an  officer  from  the  man- 
of-war,  having  been  on  board  of  the  whaler  making  inquiry 
into  the  state  of  affairs  there,  returns  with  captain,  com 
plainants,  and  witnesses,  who  are  speedily  standing  on  the 
quarter-deck  of  Her  Majesty's  ship.  The  captain  of  the 
man-of-war,  having  listened  to  the  complaint,  the  defence, 
and  the  witnesses  pro  and  cow,  gives  a  prompt  oecision  on 
the  case,  from  which  there  is  no  appeal.  The  complaints 
usually  consist  of  having  been  brutally  beaten  by  the  captain 
or  mate,  of  insufficiency  of  food,  or  food  of  bad  quality. 
They  are  seldom  made  without  good  foundation,  and  are 
mostly  easily  substantiated,  as  witnesses  against  the  captain 
may  volunteer  into  the  man-of-war,  as  well  as  the  complain 
ant.  The  proof  of  ill-usage  by  striking  is  frequently  easy, 
by  the  men  showing  the  marks  of  wounds  and  recent  bruises 
on  their  bodies.  When  bad  food  is  complained  of,  the  pro 
visions  they  have  on  board  are  examined,  and  when  insuffi 
ciency  is  the  cause  of  complaint,  the  physical  condition  of  the 
crew  often  affords  confirmation  or  disproval  of  it.  Summary, 
and  promptly  carried  into  execution,  are  the  decisions  of  the^e 
floating  courts  of  justice,  being  generally  somewhat  to  the 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  81 

following  effect :  "  Captain,  pay  these  men  up  to  the  present 
time,  and  send  them  aboard  with  their  chests  in  less  than 
half  an  hour."  It  is  no  use  for  the  captain  to  say  that  he 
has  not  got  money  to  pay  them  ;  if  money  cannot  be  found, 
goods  will  be  seized  to  the  amount  required ;  a  few  barrels 
of  <5il,  for  instance,  have  frequently  been  taken,  and  sold, 
when  convenient,  to  pay  the  seamen's  wages. 

I  recollect  seeing  one  of  these  cases  decided  in  a  manner 
that  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  beholders.  A  poor,  half- 
starved  looking  object,  reminding  one  of  Smallbones,  in  Mar- 
rvatt's  novel  of  Snarlcyow,  brought  a  complaint  against  his 
captain  for  beating  him,  and,  as  the  boy  said,  making  him 
afraid  of  his  life,  besides  keeping  him  on  short  allowance  of 
bad  food.  His  statement  was  fully  borne  out  by  the  evi 
dence  of  several  of  the  crew,  besides  the  marks  of  bruises  and 
ulcers  on  various  parts  of  his  body.  The  captain,  a  big,  ill- 
looking  scoundrel,  "  whose  looks  would  have  been  enough  to 
hang  him  with  any  honest  jury,"  as  an  old  tar  remarked, 
seemed  quite  careless  of  refuting  the  evidence,,  which  exhi 
bited  a  case  of  monstrous  injustice  and  cruelty.  Our  cap 
tain,  having  heard  the  case,  ordered  the  captain  of  the 
whaler  to  go  aboard  with  Smallbones,  and  see  that  he  found 
all  his  property,  and  afterwards  bring  him  on  board  of  the 
Blazer  and  pay  him  his  wages  in  his  presence.  The  captain 
and  Smallbones  having  come  aboard,  and  the  latter  having 
received  the  wages  due  to  him,  the  captain  of  the  whaler, 
thinking  the  case  over,  was  for  proceeding  immediately  to 
his  own  vessel,  when  he  was  told  by  our  captain  to  stop  a 
few  minutes,  as  he  was  not  quite  done  with  him  yet.  In  the 
meantime  our  boatswain  had  been  dispatched  for  the  cats, 
and  having  returned  in  a  few  minutes  with  a  bagful  of  these 
implements,  amidst  the  grins  and  ill-concealed  glee  of  the 
crew  of  the  Blazer,  who  thought  it  a  capital  joke  to  see  a 


82  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

skipper  get  Iris  back  pickled,  the  captain  of  the  whaler  was 
ordered  to  strip.  He  appeared  to  hesitate  at  first  for  a 
minute  or  so,  probably  thinking  it  might  be  a  mistake  or  a 
joke,  but  on  our  captain  calling  out  to  him,  to  strip  and  be 

d d,  or  it  would  be  worse  for  him,  he  saw  resistance  or 

delay  would  be  useless,  and  began  very  deliberately  to  iake 
off  his  coat  and  shirt.  He  was  then  tied  up  to  a  gun,  and 
received  three  dozen  on  the  bare  back,  which  the  boatswain 
seemed  to  give  con  amore,  having  selected  the  thieves'  cat 
for  the  purpose,  a  heavier  sort  than  those  in  common  use. 
On  his  going  over  the  ship's  side  to  go  to  his  own  vessel,  "  a 
sadder  and  wiser  man"  than  when  he  came  aboard,  our  cap 
tain  hoped  he  would  not  let  him  catch  him  in  a  similar 
scrape  again,  or  he  would  give  him  a  double  dose  of  the 
same  physic.  This  was  the  only  case  in  which  I  saw  the 
captain  of  one  of  these  vessels  flogged,  and  I  thought  our 
captain  must  have  greatly  exceeded  his  powers  by  the  pro 
ceeding;  but  I  was  told  by  some  of  the  old  hands  that  it  was 
not  at  all  uncommon,  and  that  they  had  often  witnessed 
similar  occurrences.  For  my  own  part  I  must  say  that  I 
highly  admired  this  simple  and  primitive  mode  of  adminis 
tering  justice,  and  could  scarce  help  thinking  that  the  good 
old  plan  of  the  commander  of  the  Faithful,  Haroun  Alraschid 
of  glorious  memory,  sometimes  possessed  its  advantages. 

Notwithstanding  the  delights  of  this  enchanting  region, 
few  of  our  men  were  sorry,  when,  our  three  years  having 
nearly  expired,  we  were  ordered  home  ;  at  least  if  one  might 
judge  from  the  appearance  of  the  crew,  who,  when  the  news 
was  communicated,  seemed  all  as  happy  as  if  they  were 
going  ashore  on  a  day's  leave,  or  had  just  been  ordered  a 
double  allowance  of  grog.  We  soon  reached  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  but  on  arriving  there,  we  found  that  a  rebellion 
had  broken  out  among  the  Dutch  boors ;  and  that  this  would 


A  BRUSH  WITH  THE  BOO£S.  83 

occasion  our  being  sent  up  the  coast  a  day  or  two's  sail,  to 
the  relief  of  a  small  body  of  soldiers  who  were  hemmed  in  bv 
a  large  force  of  the  rebels.  These  soldiers  had  been  sent  to 
quell  the  insurrection,  but  the  force  they  had  taken  was  too 
small :  they  had  been  surrounded  by  overwhelming  numbers, 
and  compelled  to  construct  a  temporary  breastwork,  wrhich 
they  had  gallantly  resolved  to  defend  until  the  last  extremity. 
On  sailing  to  the  bay  where  we  were  to  land,  we  saw  that 
the  rebels  had  made  an  attempt  to  fortify  the  harbour, 
having  mounted  a  few  guns  on  a  height  near  its  entrance. 
Our  captain,  either  from  a  desire  to  spare  an  effusion  of 
blood,  or  because  he  had  received  instructions  to  that  effect, 
sent  a  lieutenant  ashore  in  the  barge  with  a  white  flag,  to 
try  and  persuade  them  to  listen  to  reason.  But  clemency 
was  thrown  away  upon  the  stupid  boors,  who  would  not 
allow  the  boat  to  land,  and  fired  several  shots  at  it  from  the 
guns  of 'the  fort ;  on  seeing  which  the  lieutenant  returned  to 
the  vessel. 

We  now  ran  in  until  within  a  mile  or  so  of  the  fort  and 
dropped  anchor,  receiving  meanwhile  a  brisk  fire  from  their 
batteries,  but  which  from  their  ignorance  of  gunnery  did  us 
no  damage.  Before  opening  our  fire,  however,  a  chance 
shot  of  theirs  killed  two  of  our  men,  and  wounded  three 
more,  putting  all  ideas  of  lenity  to  the  scoundrels  out  of  the 
captain's  head,  and  he  immediately  gave  the  command  to 
commence  firing.  A  tremendous  fire  was  now  opened  from 
our  vessel  upon  the  fort,  which  never  fired  another  shot  in 
return,  in  a  few  minutes  its  only  occupants  being  the 
wounded,  the  dying,  and  the  dead.  The  temporary  fortifi 
cation  they  had  been  occupying  was  situated  on  a  promon 
tory,  between  which  and  the  wooded  country  behind,  there 
was  a  sandy  neck  or  isthmus,  which  was  completely  exposed 
to  our  fire,  and  over  which  the  enemy  had  to  pass  in  retreat- 


84  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

ing  to  the  country.  In  a  few  minutes  after  our  firing  com 
menced,  seeing  it  was  not  returned,  our  captain  ordered  us 
to  cease  firing ;  wlien  we  could  see  a  crowd  of  several  thou 
sands  running  in  a  state  of  the  utmost  confusion  across  the 
isthmus.  Two  or  three  guns  were  directed  and  fired  among 
them,  doing  dreadful  execution,  when  the  captain  ordered 
the  firing  to  cease,  remarking  that  the  poor  devils  would 
have  had  enough  of  it.  Our  marines  and  sailors  armed 
with  muskets  and  cutlasses  were  now  landed,  when  we 
found  some  hundreds  of  killed  and  wounded,  in  and  around 
the  fort,  presenting  the  most  shocking  spectacle  I  ever 
beheld.  Our  surgeon  and  his  mates  set  to  work  on  the 
wounded,  and  spent  a  few  hours  in  zealously  trying  to  repair 
those  injuries,  which  we  had  as  zealously  tried  to  inflict  a 
short  time  previous. 

Having  ascertained  that  the  party  of  soldiers  who  were 
about  eight  miles  in  the  interior,  still  held  out,  one  of  the 
most  slightly  wounded  having  had  his  wound  dressed,  was 
placed  on  a  mule  led  by  one  of  our  men,  to  conduct  us  to 
the  place.  On  arriving,  we  found  that  the  siege  had  been 
raised  that  morning,  the  insurgents  having  left  in  great 
panic  on  seeing  the  flight  of  the  routed*  party,  who  had 
scattered  in  all  directions.  The  soldiers  were  in  a  pitiable 
condition,  having  been  in  a  state  of  starvation  for  the  last 
two  or  three  days.  They  had  been  closely  besieged  eight 
days,  and  their  position  frequently  assaulted,  but  they  had 
always  repulsed  the  enemy  with  great  loss.  In  fact  they 
had  killed  so  many  of  the  assailants,  that  they  had  resolved 
rather  to  die  of  starvation  than  surrender,  as  they  felt  certain 
of  being  killed  by  the  enemy  in  revenge  for  the  loss  caused 
by  their  obstinate  resistance.  Many  of  them  were  so  weak 
that  we  had  to  take  spell  about  of  carrying  f  lem  in  litters, 
which  we  made  of  the  branches  of  trees ;  and  it  ook  us  all  that 


CHANGES.  85 

day  and  part  of  the  next  to  bring  them  aboard.  After 
having  destroyed  and  dismounted  the  guns  at  the  fort,  we 
sailed  for  Cape  Town,  and  having  put  the  soldiers  ashore 
there,  we  proceeded  on  our  homeward  voyage.  In  less  than 
two  months  after  this  we  were  paid  off  at  Portsmouth,  when 
I  received  fifty  sovereigns  as  my  three  years'  pay  and  share 
of  prize  money.  I  bought  a  decent  suit  of  clothes  and  pro 
ceeded  to  London.  On  arriving  there,  I  learned  that  my 
father  was  dead,  my  sister  had  married  and  gone  with  her 
husband  to  America,  and  my  step-mother  and  her  family 
had  gone  into  the  country  to  live  with  some  of  her  friends. 
I  came  out  to  New  York,  where  I  found  employment  easily 
enough  at  my  trade,  and  where,  if  I  had  not  been  a  bit  of  a 
fool,  I  should  still  be,  I  believe.  Such  are  a  few  of  the  events 
in  the  experience  of  my  comrade,  Bill  N-.itt. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Land  in   sight — Pensacola  Bay — Fort  Pickens — Rough   lodgings — 
Smuggling  Whiskey — A  Carouse. 

THE  captain  of  the  Albatross  had  br6ught  liis  wife  along 
with  him ;  he  was  an  excellent  sailor,  all  the  men  said,  hut 
had  the  prevalent  fault  of  sea  captains,  he  was  a  little  fiery 
in  his  temper  ;  which  the  presence  of  his  wife  it  is  likely 
would  help  to  moderate.  Be  that,  however,  as  it  may,  it  is 
'certain  that  her  excellent  and  remarkable  sailor-like  qualifi 
cations  made  her  the  admiration  of  all  on  board,  as,  so  far 
from  being  afraid,  she  seemed  rather  to  enjoy  the.  excitement 
caused  by  the  appearance  of  a  squall,  which  at  that 
season  of  the  year  in  these  latitudes,  are  often  anything 
the  reverse  of  safe  or  pleasant.  On  a  stormy  and  disagreea 
ble  night  when  the  captain  considered  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
be  upon  deck,  there  was  she  to  be  seen  along  with  him  ;  either 
sitting  alongside  of  her  husband  in  front  of  the  cabin  beside 
the  wheel,  or  pacing  backwards  and  forwards  on  the  quarter 
deck,  now  and  again  taking  a  knowing  squint  at  the  rigging 
or  the  horizon,  and  anon  as  abstracted  seemingly,  as  if  rumi 
nating  on  some  deep  problem  in  navigation.  The  sailors 
declared  that  she  could  navigate  a  vessel  as  well  as  any 
captain  that  ever  stept  in  shoe  leather.  There  might  be 
some  exaggeration  in  that  statement,  however  ;  and  perhaps 
they  magnified  her  powers  of  managing  die  ship,  from  some 
times  witnessing  the  apparent  ease  with  which  she  occasion- 
ajly  succeeded  in  managing  the  captain  when  carried  away 


THE    FLORIDA    COAST.  87 

by  those  hurricanes  of  passion  which  now  and  then  seized 
him.  Still  if  she  had  studied  navigation  I  see  nothing  to 
hinder  her  from  being  an  expert  navigator,  as  she  certainly 
would  have  shown  no  lack  of  intrepidity. 

After  a  prosperous  voyage  of  sixteen  days,  the  low  sandy 
coast  of  Florida  became  distinctly  visible.  The  first  appear 
ance  of  land  on  approaching  Pensacola  is  very  singular. 
Long  bright  lines  of  silvery  white,  crowned  with  a  mass  of 
dark  green  vegetation,  stretched  far  athwart  the  blue  horizon, 
suggesting  the  idea  of  a  strong  surf  everywhere  rolling  in 
upon  the  shore.  On  a  near  approach  we  discover  that  which 
we  thought  surf  is  the  beach,  the  sand  of  which  here  is  as 
pure  and  white  as  drifted  snow,  which  it  exactly  resembles 
nt  a  distance.  The  bright  and  varied  hues  of  the  water, 
from  dark  blue  or  green  to  the  lighter  shades  of  these 
colours,  which  the  sea  presents  as  we  close  on  the  land,  the 
dazzling  white  of  the  sandy  shore,  and  the  heavy  masses  of  the 
dark  green  pines,  strongly  relieved  against  the  clear  blue  sky, 
impart  a  unique,  and  at  the  same  time  a  highly  picturesque 
appearance  to  the  bay  of  Pensacola. 

Fort  Pickens,  where  we  were  to  land  two  companies,  to 
one  of  which  I  belonged,  is  built  on  the  point  of  a  low  sandy 
tongue  of  land,  and  together  with  Barrancas  and  Munroe, 
the  two  forts  opposite,  where  our  other  two  companies  were 
to  be  stationed,  completely  commands  the  entrance  of  the 
bay.  As  the  water  was  deep  enough  to  admit  of  vessels 
coming  close  to  the  wharf  at  Fort  Pickens,  the  Albatross 
was  hauled  close  up  and  firmly  moored.  It  was  near  sun 
set  when  we  arrived  at  the  fort,  and  only  a  few  of  the  old 
soldiers  who  expected  to  meet  friends  and  comrades  in  the 
company  stationed  there,  went  ashore,  and  also  the  whole  of 
the  officers,  who  of  course  preferred  (the  lucky  dogs)  a  good 
dinner,  and  a  jovial  night  ashore,  to  being  cooped  up  in  a 


88  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

ship.  Early  next  morning  we  disembarked,  and  after  placing 
our  arms,  equipments,  and  personal  effects  in  our  quarters, 
which  were  only  distant  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the 
wharf,  we  were  employed  for  the  remainder  of  the  day  in 
bringing  the  regimental  property  ashore. 

The  numerous  uncomfortable  circumstances  from  which 
soldiers  usually  suffer  during  a  removal,  and  more  especially 
in  the  United  States  service,  where  the  idea  of  having  quar 
ters  comfortably  arranged  for  the  soldier's  reception,  on  his 
arrival  at  a  new  station,  is  seldom  thought  of,  is  the  cause 
of  a  great  deal  of  the  drunkenness  that  commonly  prevails 
upon  these  occasions.  The  first  object  of  most  soldiers  upon 
entering  a  new  garrison  is  to  discover  where  liquor  can  be 
procured ;  neither  is  this,  in  spite  of  all  penalties  enforced 
and  precautions  taken,  ever  a  matter  of  difficult  accomplish 
ment  ;  for  according  to  the  amount  of  the  prohibition  and 
restriction,  so  is  the  amount  of  bounty  on  the  smuggling  of 
the  article.  At  Fort  Pickens,  for  instance,  when  we  landed, 
whiskey  was  sold  at  a  dollar  a  bottle,  an  advance  of  nine 
hundred  per  cent,  upon  what  it  cost  at  Barrancas  on  the 
other  side  of  the  bay.  Having  once  discovered  a  sly  grog 
shop,  the  intelligence  soon  spreads,  and  in  a  very  short  period 
intoxication  in  every  progressive  stage,  and  producing  every 
variety  of  effect,  is  the  order  of  the  day,  and  sobriety  only 
the  remarkable  exception.  In  these  saturnalia  of  course  a 
few  fights  occasionally  take  place,  and  individuals  of  pugna 
cious  propensities  usually  find  "  ample  room  and  verge 
enough "  for  their  exercise,  an  excellent  field  here  offering 
for  the  display  of  what  is  fancifully  termed  the  science. 

On  the  present  occasion,  the  appearance  of  our  quarters 
at  Fort  Pickens  was  just  the  sort  of  thing  to  justify  or  en 
courage  this  predisposition  to  drown  care,  and  the  idea  of  the 
disagreeable  and  uncomfortable,  in  a  bumper.  They  con- 


BAD    QUARTERS.  89 

sisted  of  a  large  bomb-proof  casemate,  exceedingly  dirty 
having  been  occupied  up  to  the  day  of  our  arrival  by  a  party 
of  negroes,  who  were  employed  in  making  repairs  on  the 
fort  and  garrison.  There  was  not  a  particle  of  furniture  of 
any  description  in  this  room  ;  the  floor,  which  was  composed 
of  bricks,  was  covered  with  mud  and  wood  ashes,  as  the 
negroes  had  kept  a  fire  burning  on  the  floor  to  keep  the  mos 
quitoes  away  ;  notwithstanding  this,  they  were  still  plentiful 
here,  though  the  cold  weather  was  setting  in.  The  ashes 
had  been  allowed  to  accumulate  on  the  floor,  which  was  also 
additionally  garnished  and  ornamented  with  skins  of  yams, 
fish  bones,  dried  peppers,  and  other  tropical  litter  of  a  lazy 
negro's  hut,  giving  it  much  the  appearance  of  a  tolerably 
dry  dunghill.  Nutt  and  I  swept  a  corner  of  this  miserable 
den,  and  having,  on  a  search  round  the  garrison,  procured  a 
few  boards,  on  these  we  spread  our  blankets,  and  thus  pre 
pared  our  bed  for  the  night ;  the  absence  of  a  mattress  was 
not  of  great  importance,  as  we  had  been  accustomed  to  dis 
pense  with  that  needless  luxury  while  on  board  ship.  In  the 
American,  service  by  the  bye,  soldiers  always  lie  on  the  boards 
when  on  board  ship ;  in  the  British  service,  where  the  health 
and  comfort  of  a  soldier  are  objects  of  study  and  solicitude, 
a  different  custom  prevails  ;  a  clean  blanket  and  mattress 
being  issued  to  the  soldier  on  his  going  on  board,  and  taken 
into  store  when  he  leaves  the  vessel.  However,  my  comrade 
Bill  Nutt  and  I  congratulated  ourselves  on  our  good  fortune 
in  having  procured  the  boards  to  lie  upon,  as  the  majority 
seemed  to  have  no  alternative  but  to  sit,  stand,  or  lie  down 
on  the  brick  floor,  cold,  damp,  and  dirty  as  it  was,  and  at  the 
imminent  risk  of  catching  a  cold,  or  a  touch  of  rheumatism. 
Under  these  circumstances,  it  need  excite  no  extravagant 
surprise,  that  whiskey,  when  it  could  be  procured,  was 
speedily  had  recourse  to,  as  a  cure  for  all  those  discomforts 


90  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER,    IN    MEXICO. 

and  annoyances  from  which  there  seemed  no  other  mode  of 
escape.  Sucii,  at  all  events,  was  the  practice  of  most  of  our 
men  on  this  evening* ;  and  such  seemed  to  be  the  course  de 
cided  on  by  a  party  of  honest  fellows  belonging  to  the  com 
pany,  who,  on  their  way  out,  stopped  to  ask  Nutt  and  me  to 
go  along  vith  them.  As  neither  of  us  were  teetotallers,  and 
as  we  lelt  rather  fatigued  with  our  day's  work,  carrying 
boxe'j  up  from  the  wharf,  we  could  offer  no  reasonable  objec 
tion  to  the  proposal :  so  accepting  the  invitation,  we  were 
soon  on  our  way  to  the  place  where  the  whiskey  was  sold. 
This  illicit  traffic  was  carried  on  by  the  blacks,  at  the  time 
employed  in  tlife  repairs  of  the  fort.  These  blacks  were 
slaves,  arid  hired  out  by  their  owners  to  government ;  some 
of  them  had  been  taught  the  trade  of  bricklaying,  and  their 
owners  received  upwards  of  twenty  dollars  a  month  for  their 
labor,  after  deducting  the  cost  of  the  slave's  living.  One  of 
these  slaves  could  not  have  been  purchased  under  a  thou 
sand  dollars ;  they  were  young,  healthy,  and  intelligent-look 
ing  negroes,  speaking  remarkably  good  English  with  great 
fluency,  better  than  most  of  the  soldiers  in  the  fort.  They  had 
an  abundant  supply  of  the  corn  whiskey  used  in  the  States, 
a  coarse  liquor,  unpleasant  in  taste,  and  intoxicating  in  the 
proportion  of  about  two  bottles  to  one  of  the  low  priced 
Irish  or  Scotch  whiskey.  This  whiskey  is  sold  in  New  York, 
New  Orleans,  and  most  large  cities  of  the  Union  at  twenty 
cents  a  gallon,  and  could  be  obtained  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  bay,  at  Barrancas,  where  these  negroes  bought  it,  at 
fifty  cents  a  gallon.  They  retailed  it  at  a  dollar  a  bottle,  or 
five  dollars  a  gallon,  clearing  the  very  moderate  profit  of 
nine  hundred  per  cent,  on  their  business,  but  they  in 
curred  the  risk  of  a  severe  flogging  if  detected  selling  liquor 
to  soldiers.  One  of  our  party  having  gone  up  to  the  window 
of  one  cf  the  huts  in  which  these  black  fellows  lived,  speed- 


A    FREE    AND    EAST.  91 

ily  returned  v/itli  four  Lotties  of  whiskey.  With  these, 
having  adjourned  to  a  convenient  distance  to  permit  our 
indulging  in  free  discourse,  without  any  risk  of  being  dis 
turbed,  we  sat  down  on  the  sand,  and  passing  the  bottle 
round,  we  drank  in  succession  without  the  useless  accom 
paniment  of  glasses. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Surprise — Doctor  Brown — Fishing  nt  Pensacola — Bathers  and 
Sharks. 

IT  was  a  beauti.'ul  calm  evening,  and  the  stars  were  shining 
with  the  lustrous  brilliancy  peculiar  to  tropical  skies,  the 
atmosphere  was  deliciously  warm',  without  feeling  in  the  least 
oppressive,  the  breeze  being  just  enough  to  moderate  the 
heat,  and  keep  the  mosquitoes  at  their  proper  distance.  Our 
party  was  comfortably  reclining  on  a  sandbank  facing  the 
bay,  whose  murmuring  waves  rippled  within  twenty  or  thirty 
yards  of  our  resting-place ;  all  seemed  to  enjoy  the  scene, 
and  all  agreed  in  declaring  the  whiskey,  which  circulated 
with  astonishing  rapidity,  to  be  a  very  good  article.  "\Ve 
were  soon,  thanks  to  the  whiskey,  in  a  philosophic  and  good- 
humoured  disposition,  and  quite  ready  to  laugh  at  all  the 
petty  miseries  and  annoyances  of  human  life,  as  a  very  good 
sort  of  joke,  and  one  not  in  the  slightest  degree  interfering 
with  our  present  delightful  entertainment.  One  of  the  party, 
named  Davis,  being  of  a  speculative  turn,  favoured  us 
with  a  short  dissertation  on  the  excessive  absurdity  of  the 
common  opinion,  that  there  ever  could  be  such  a  quality  in 
existence  as  positive  good  or  evil,  these  terms  being  converti 
ble  or  comparative.  This  position  he  proceeded  to  illustrate 
in  a  manner  which  I  have  no  doubt  would  have  been  highly 
satisfactory  and  ingenious,  wrhen  he  was  requested  to  "  cut  it 
short,"  by  Bob  Madden,  a  man  of  a  practical  turn,  who  wished 
to  favour  the  company  by  singing  the  "  Cruiskeen  Lawn." 


UNWELCOME    VISITORS.  93 

Tliis  having  been  sung  accordingly,  and  duly  cliomssed, 
drinking,  smoking,  singing,  joking,  and  laughing,  passed  the 
time  until  near  tattoo,  by  which  time  we  had  got  pretty  deep 
into  the  third  bottle,  and  began  to  think  of  retiring.  Unfor 
tunately,  however,  for  the  harmonious  ending  of  what  had 
been  so  well  begun,  the  whiskey  now  began  to  show  some 
of  its  usual  effects,  by  producing  a  strong  inclination  for 
exhibiting,  and 

"  Each,  for  madness  ruled  the  hour, 
Would  prove  his  own  expressive  power." 

Davis  lectured  with  much  apparent  earnestness  of  manner  and 
animation,  on  what  I  believe  he  called  "  The  Political  Policy 
of  the  Peruvians"  to  several  of  the  party,  who  were  strain 
ing  their  energies  in  a  vain  attempt  to  follow  the  tropes  and 
figures  of  his  rhetoric.  Bob  Madden,  who  hated  long  speeches, 
as  he  hated  an  unfilled  can,  bawled  at  the  highest  pitch  of 
his  voice,  "  Cease,  rude  Boreas,  blustering  railer,"  which 
Davis,  construing  into  a  designed  intention  of  insult  and 
interruption,  became  perfectly  sawige,  and  declared  his  inten 
tion  of  taking  it  out  of  Bob,  by  pitching  into  him.  At  this 
stage  of  the  proceedings,  the  officer  of  the  day,  who  had 
heard  the  noise  our  party  had  been  making  for  some  time 
previous,  dispatched  a  corporal  and  a  file  of  the  guard  to 
convey  us  prisoners  to  the  guard-house.  Nutt,  who  was 
generally  upon  the  alert,  and  who  had  been  looking  for  some 
such  interruption,  gave  us  the  hint  just  in  time,  and  we  started 
to  our  feet  and  ran,  with  the  guard  in  chase.  But  on  these 
occasions  the  guard  is  seldom  anxious  to  make  prisoners, 
and  only  that  one  of  the  party,  named  Dymond,  happened  to 
fall  and  get  stunned,  so  that  he  could  not  run,  there  would 
have  been  no  prisoners  made.  As  it  was,  he  was  taken  to 
the  guard-house. 


94  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

Unluckily  for  the  prisoner,  the  officer  of  the  day  had 
followed  the  party  of  the  guard  himself,  and  observing  the 
bottles,  which,  in  our  hurried  retreat,  we  had  left  on  the  sand 
hill,  he  picked  them  up,  and  found  one  of  them  full  and 
another  containing  a  portion  of  whiskey.  The  empty  bottles, 
by  "  the  scent  of  the  whiskey  that  hung  round  them  still," 
gave  sufficient  indication  that  they  had  been  recently  emptied 
of  similar  contents,  and  were  the  cause  of  the  present  fracas. 
The  officer  ordered  the  corporal  of  the  guard  to  secure  these 
bacchanalian  trophies,  and  give  them  in  charge  to  the  ser 
geant,  and  next  morning  he  had  them  sent  for  and  produced 
before  the  commanding  officer,  as  a  proof  of  the  extent  to 
which  this  illicit  traffic  in  whiskey  was  carried  on  in  the 
garrison.  Dymond  was  then  sent  for,  and  questioned  as  to 
where  he  got  the  liquor,  and  the  parties  who  were  along  with 
him.  But  neither  threats  nor  promises  could  prevail  on  him 
to  betray  either  the  one  or  the  other,  and  he  was  kept  in 
confinement  for  nearly  a  month,  during  which  time  he  was 
not  forgotten  by  his  comrades,  but  being  considered  a  martyr 
to  an  honourable  principle,  was  furnished  with  everything  that 
was  supposed  likely  to  soften  the  rigour  of  confinement.  As 
for  the  remainder  of  our  convivial  party,  we  answered  our 
names  at  tattoo  on  going  home  that  e'vening,  after  which  we 
went  to  sleep,  and  were  never  questioned  about  the  matter. 

Such  is  a  specimen  of  our  proceedings  on  the  first  night 
after  landing  at  Fort  Pickens,  and  such  is  the  mode  in  which 
drinking  is  commonly  practised  in  that  service.  A  degrad 
ing  custom,  producing  habits  of  beastly  intoxication,  and 
having  its  origin  in  the  erroneous  manner  in  which  soldiers 
are  treated  in  that  service,  where  a  systematic  course  of  pro 
cedure,  calculated  to  degrade  a  soldier,  and  annihilate  his 
self-respect,  seems  to  be  in  constant  operation.  If  in  place  of 
prohibiting  the  soldier  from  ever  going  into  a  tavern,  or  tasting 


PHYSICAL    DISCOMFORTS.  95 

spirits,  under  a  regard,  forsooth,  for  liis  morals,  and  a  pretence 
of  keeping  him  sober,  they  were  to  make  him  a  little  more 
comfortable  in  his  quarters,  they  would  probably  succeed  a 
little  better  in  regulating  the  soldier's  conduct.  And  if,  in 
addition,  they  were  to  establish,  as  in  the  British  service,  a 
tavern  in  every  garrison,  where  riotous  conduct  or  drunken 
ness  would  not  be  permitted,  but  where  the  soldier  could  sit 
down  and  enjoy  himself  in  a  moderate  and  rational  manner, 
I  could  safely  venture  to  predict,  that  the  practice,  now  pre 
valent,  of  drinking  out  of  bottles  until  beastly  intoxication 
ensues,  would  cease  to  exist. 

On  the  second  morning  after  our  arrival  we  had  our  quar 
ters  thoroughly  cleaned,  and  were  supplied  with  bedsteads, 
but  we  soon  discovered  that  no  cleaning  wrould  render  the 
.quarters  comfortable.  They  were  dark,  damp,  and  badly 
ventilated,  the  wralls  in  rainy  weather  dripping  with  wet,  and 
in  the  still,  close  evenings,  they  swarmed  with  mosquitoes. 
A  good  deal  of  sickness  was  complained  of  by  the  men, 
though  the  winter  had  set  in,  which  in  the  south  is  the 
healthy  period  of  the  year,  and  the  approach  of  which  is 
welcomed  as  cordially  by  the  whites,  as  the  summer  is  by  the 
inhabitants  of  cold  or  temperate  climates.  This  was  com 
monly  attributed  to  the -badness  of  our  quarters,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  wras  a  principal  cause  ;  still  the  change  of  cli 
mate  and  water,  and  the  careless  and  intemperate  habits  of  a 
large  proportion  of  the  men,  with  the  hardships  and  priva 
tions  of  the  voyage,  might  sufficiently  account  for  much  of  the 
disease  prevalent,  which  consisted  of  fever  and  ague,  colds, 
rheumatism,  and  diarrhoea.  Our  surgeon,  who  came  over 
from  Barrancas  every  morning  to  visit  the  sick,  was  rather 
an  original  and  eccentric  individual  in  his  manner.  When  a 
patient  described  his  malady  and  its  symptoms,  he  invaria 
bly  assured  him  that  he  need  be,  under  no  apprehension  or 


90  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

alarm  about  it,  as  it  was  a  mere  trifle,  and  easily  subdued  by 
refusing  to  yield  to  it.  lie  had  the  same  complaint  himself, 
lie  said,  but  luckily  his  duty  compelled  him  to  move  about, 
so  that  he  could  not  give  way  to  disease,  for  want  of  time. 
As  he  told  every  description  of  patient  the  identical  same 
story,  he  became  at  last  quite  an  object  of  curiosity  ;  for 
though  of  thin  and  spare  habit,  this  victim,  according  to  his 
own  account,  of  the  most  complicated  variety  of  diseases  that 
ever  afflicted  one  poor  individual  at  a  time,  was  yet  cheerful, 
active,  and  vigorous.  While  giving  his  patients  medicine,  it 
was  his  custom  to  inculcate  strongly  the  advantages  of  absti 
nence  and  exercise,  in  the  prevention  and  cure  of  disease  ;  he 
generally  quoted  his  own  case  as  an-  example  in  point,  some 
times  remarking  that  he  would  have  been  dead  long  ago,  if 
he  had  not  made  a  resolution  not  to  die  as  long  as  he  could 
help  it.  Our  men  gave  him  the  sobriquet  of  Doctor  Brown, 
from  the  resemblance  which  his  advices  bore  to  those  given 
by  Doctor  Brown  to  his  apprentice,  in  the  song,  the  following 
distich  of  which  was  often  sung  in  his  hearing  as  he  passed 
through  the  barrack  square,  though  if  he  perceived,  he  never 
took  any  notice  of  the  allusion  : — 

"  He  often  says,  with  much  elocution, 
Hard  work,  low  diet,  and  a  good  resolution, 
Are  the  only  things  for  the  constitution. 

Oh !  Doctor  Brown." 

Davis,  who  was  fond  of  propounding  theories  on  the  perplex 
ing  and  inexplicable,  said  he  considered  that  the  great  variety 
sf  diseases  to  which  the  doctor  was  subject  was  probably 
rather  in  his  favour,  as  their  antagonistic  properties,  by  neu 
tralising  and  counteracting  each  other's  bad  effects,  might 
preserve  a  beneficial  balance  in  the  system.  To  which  lucid 
explanation  Bob  Madden  responded,  by  asking  Davis  if  ha 


FISH    AND    FISHING.  97 

saw  anything  particularly  green  about  him,  a  remark  which 
Davis  of  course  considered  beneath  reply. 

Shortly  after  our  arrival  at  Fort  Pickcns,  at  the  sugges 
tion  of  our  officers,  we  subscribed  a  dollar  apiece  for  the 
purchase  of  a  seine,  by  means  of  which  we  procured  an  abun 
dant  supply  of  fish,  as  the  bay  literally  swarmed  with  them. 
We  usually  hauled  the  seine  twice  or  thrice  a  week,  pro 
curing  with  ease  a  barrel  or  two  of  excellent  fish,  weighing 
from  half  a  pound  to  three  or  four  pounds  each  ;  any  of 
smaller  size  we  threw  into  the  sea  again.  The  fish  we  prin 
cipally  caught  were  mullet,  which  are  very  delicious  fish ; 
for  four  or  five  months  during  the  winter,  when  they  are  in 
season,  immense  shoals  of  them  frequent  the  coast  of  Florida ; 
they  feed  on  mollusca  and  are  never  caught  with  bait,  nei 
ther  are  they  ever  found  on  the  northern  coast  of  America. 
Sheepshead,  another  very  excellent  fish  which  we  commonly 
caught,  has  its  name  from  the  appearance  of  its  mouth  and 
teeth,  which  have  a  striking  resemblance  to  those  of  a  sheep. 
These  last,  with  perch,  cat-fish,  trout,  and  various  others, 
might  easily  be  caught  by  fishing  at  the  wharf  with  a  line,  but 
as  the  seine  furnished  a  superabundant  supply  for  the  use  of 
the  garrison,  fishing  with  the  line  was  not  much  practised. 
There  was  one  species  of  fish  in  the  bay  of  Pensacola,  how 
ever,  which  we  could  have  very  gladly  dispensed  with ;  these 
were  sharks,  which  were  both  numerous,  and  of  most  incre 
dible  size  and  voracity.  A  short  time  before  the  arrival  of 
our  regiment  a  sailor,  who  had  fallen  overboard  from  the 
rigging  of  a  man-of-war  lying  at  the  Navy  Yard,  was  almost 
instantly  devoured  by  these  ravenous  monsters,  in  the  sight  of 
his  horror-stricken  shipmates,  who  could  render  him  no 
assistance,  so  sudden  was  the  catastrophe.  The  crew  of  the 
man-of-war,  while  they  remained  there,  had  waged  an  inces 
sant  war  with  the  sharks,  in  revenge  for  the  loss  of  their 

5 


98  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

comrade  ;  and  liad  killed  a  great  many,  but  without  having 
produced  any  apparent  decrease  in  their  numbers.  The  oii'al 
which  is  thrown  overboard  by  the  men-of-war,  one  or  two  of 
whom  are  constantly  lying  off  the  Navy  Yard,  is  probably 
the  cause  of  the  presence  of  so  many  of  these  unwelcome 
visitors.  One  of  our  officers,  desiring  to  have  a  specimen  cf 
these  sharks,  employed  the  ordnance  sergeant  to  6atch  one. 
Accordingly  a  stout  shark's  line  was  furnished  for  the  occa 
sion,  consisting  of  fifty  or  sixty  fathoms  of  what  would  be 
considered  tolerably  thick  ropd  for  a  horse  halter.  A  shark's 
hook,  consisting  of  three  or  four  branching  out  of  a  single  stalk, 
and  about  the  size  of  butchers' hooks,  attached  to  a  stout  iron 
chain,  and  baited  with  a  four  pound  piece  of  pork,  the  whole 
being  well  fastened  to  the  line,  which  was  made  fast  to  a 
mooring  post  on  the  wharf,  was  thrown  into  the  sea  opposite 
the  wharf.  The  line  was  left  in  charge  of  the  sentry  on  the 
wharf,  who  had  orders  to  send  up  word  to  the  garrison  as 
soon  as  he  perceived  that  a  shark  had  taken  the  bait.  Uut 
the  sentry  had  neglected  the  order,  and  seeing  the  line  tight 
he  began  to  haul  in  upon  it  with  all  his  might.  The  shark, 
taken  by  surprise  at  the  novelty  of  his  situation,  yielded  a 
little  at  first,  and  then  suddenly  making  a  desperate  rush,  he 
dragged  the  sentry  into  the  water,  and  he  very  narrowly 
escaped  drowning,  but  was  luckily  saved  by  holding  on  to 
the  line  till  some  of  the  men^who  were  near  came  to  his 
assistance.  A  sufficient  number  of  men  having  speedily 
arrived,  the  shark  was  hauled  on  the  beach  alongside  the 
wharf,  and  dispatched  with  bayonets  and  cutlasses  ;  when 
measured  it  was  found  to  be  eleven,  feet  lo^g.  .  Its  frightfully 
capacious  jaws,  full  of  jagged,  saw-like  toeth,  were  taken  out 
of  the  head  and  preserved  by  the  ordnance  sergeant  ;  when 
fully  extended  the  jaws  would  easily  admit  a  stout  man's 
shoulders  to  pass  through  them.  T  had  frequently  seen  them 


FOOL-HARDIXESS.  99 

caught  when  at  sea,  five  or  six  feet  in  length,  but  never  any 
thing  to  compare  with  this  monster  of  the  deep. 

One  would  imagine  that  with  a  knowledge  of  the  existence 
of  such  creatures  in  the  bay,  swimming  in  deep  water  would 
have  been  totally  out  of  the  question  at  Pensacola,  but  there 
are  strange  reckless  beings  everywhere  fond  of  excitement, 
and  of  the  credit  of  doing  something  of  which  everybody  else 
would  be  afraid.  One  morning  two  or  three  of  the  men 
being  on  the  wharf,  and  the  conversation  happening  to  turn 
on  the  shark  which  had  been  caught  a  few  days  previously, 
and  the  danger  any  person  would  incur  by  swimming  there  ; 
one  of  them  offered  for  a  trifling  wager  to  jump  in  from  the 
wharf,  and  swim  in  deep  water  for  a  period  of  five  minutes. 
The  wager  was  accepted,  and  the  fool-hardy  hero  was  strip 
ping  to  jump  in,  when  the  sentry  stationed  on  the  wharf 
interfered,  and  ordered  him  to  put  on  his  clothes.  This  he 
refused  to  do,  and  the  sentry  very  properly  made  him  a 
prisoner,  and  sending  for  the  corporal  of  the  guard,  he  was 
taken  to  the  guard-house.  The  commanding  officer,  on 
learning  the  circumstance,  complimented  the  sentry  on  his 
conduct;  and  issued  an  order  prohibiting  soldiers  from 
bathing  in  deep  water. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Tampa  Bay — Indian  Paradise — Beautiful  Squaws — Forest  Life — The 
Hummocko — Snakes — Rumours  of  War — Lost  in  the  Wood. 

THE  surface  of  the  ground,  both  within  the  garrison,  and 
everywhere  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Pickens,  is  entirely  com 
posed  of  fine  sand,  which  is  so  white  and  dazzling,  especially 
when  the  sun  is  shining,  as  to  have  a  most  unpleasant  and 
injurious  effect  upon  the  eyes.  The  situation  is  also  very 
unhealthy  during  the  summer,  the  fatally  destructive  yellow 
fever  being  frequently  prevalent  during  the  hot  season.  It . 
was  therefore  with  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction  that  the  com 
pany  to  which  I  belonged,  after  having  been  about  a  month 
at  Fort  Pickens,  received  the  order  to  proceed  to  Tampa 
Ray.  We  embarked  in  a  brig  called  the  Isabella  on  the 
2nd  of  November,  and  bidding  adieu  to  those  of  our  com 
rades  whom  we  were  leaving  behind  at  Fort  Pickens,  after  a 
pleasant  voyage  of  two  days  we  anchored  about  seven  or 
eight  miles  from  the  village  and  garrison  in  Tampa  Bay, 
that  being  as  near  as  vessels  above  the  size  of  a  light  schoo 
ner  can  approach,  on  account  of  the  extreme  shoalness  of  the 
bay. 

It  was  evening  when  we  arrived,  and  early  next  morning 
a  small  government  sloop  called  the  "  Star,"  arrived  from 
the  garrison  for  the  purpose  of  taking  us  ashore.  About 
one-half  of  us  contrived  to  stow  ourselves  into  it,  along  with 
our  muskets  and  knapsacks,  though  rather  crowded.  .Sho 
was  to  go  back  for  the  remainder  after  we  were  landed. 


TAMPA    BAY.  101 

After  tacking  about  in  the  bay  until  near  evening,  the  wind 
being  nearly  ahead,  we  finally  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
wharf.  The  appearance  of  the  land,  when  viewed  from  the 
deck  of  a  vessel  in  the  bay,  is  like  most  of  the  views  along 
the  coast  of  Florida,  of  a  rather  tame  and  circumscribed 
character;  as,  owing  to  the  perfectly  dead  level  of  the 
country,  a  green  belt  of  vegetation  covering  a  sandy  beach 
is  all  that  the  eye  can  discover.  On  a  nearer  approach, 
however,  as  its  distinctive  features  become  more  easily 
defined,  they  arrange  themselves  into  something  more  nearly 
akin  to  the  beautiful  and  the  picturesque. 

Tampa  Bay  is  a  neat  little  village  of  wooden  houses, 
situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Ilillsboro,  and  close  to  the 
garrison.  There  is  a  small  traffic  carried  on  between  it  and 
the  few  scattered  settlers  of  the  neighbourhood,  who  bring  in 
their  surplus  produce  and  exchange  it  here  for  goods  or 
money.  Its  situation  is  reckoned  to  be  one  of  the  most 
healthy  arid  salubrious  in  Florida ;  but  as  the  land  in  the 
vicinity  is  mostly  of  a  poor  quality,  and  as  the  bay  is  diffi 
cult  of  approach  for  shipping,  it  does  not  seem  destined  to 
rise  very  rapidly  in  importance.  The  barracks,  which  may 
almost  be  said  to  be  part  of  the  village,  are  a  long  range  of 
log  buildings  erected  by  the  troops  during  the  Florida 
Indian  war  in  1837.  They  have  a  covered  gallery  all  round, 
and  are  well  adapted  to  the  climate  of  Florida,  being  raised 
about  three  feet  from  the  ground,  high  in  the  roof,  and  well 
ventilated.  They  are  also  built  on  the  highest  part  of  the 
garrison,  about  fifteen  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  an 
unusually  great  elevation  on  the  coast  of  Florida. 

We  were  all  delighted,  on  landing,  with  the  appearance*  of 
the  p^iri-ison,  its  neat  white-washed  buildings,  and  its  grassy 
parade ;  while  round  the  neat  cottages  in  which  the  officers 
and  their  families  lived,  grew  rows  of  orange  and  lime  trees 


102  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

thickly  covered  with  their  golden  fruit,  then  nearly  ripe.  In 
front  of  the  barracks  there  stood  a  noble  grove  of  live 
oak  trees,  which  afforded  a  delicious  shade  from  the  scorch 
ing  heat  of  the  sun,  and  gave  an  air  of  quiet,  and  an 
expression  of  sylvan  beauty  to  the  scene.  The  long  grey 
beard  and  wierdlike  Spanish  moss,  that  droops  in  huge 
masses  from  the  rough  brawny  arms  of  these  giants  of  the 
primeval  forest,  gives  them  a  venerable  and  druidical  appear 
ance  which  is  exceedingly  picturesque.  This  moss,  which 
takes  root  in  the  bark,  grows  on  many  of  the  trees  in 
Florida,  though  I  never  saw  any  on  the  pine.  But  above  all 
it  seems  to  love  the  live  oak,  to  whose  strong  arm  it  clings 
with  devoted  affection ;  depending  in-lon<>-  flexile  drapes  that 
swing  most  gracefully  in  the  breeze.  The  proper  name 
of  this  plant  is  tillandsea ;  it  is  of  a  grey  colour,  and  not 
unlike  long  rough  beards  of  a  gigantic  size  in  appearance. 
It  has  a  very  small  yellow  blossom,  and  pod  containing 
seed,  and  is  very  valuable  when  properly  cured,  being 
commonly  applied  to  all  those  purposes  for  which  curled 
hair  is  used,  such  as  stuffing  mattresses,  sofas,  and  chairs. 
To  prepare  it  for  this  purpose  it  is  gathered  from  the  trees 
with  long  hooks,  and  afterwards  put  into  water  for  a  few 
days  to  rot  the  outer  part,  and  then  dried.  The  substance 
obtained  by  this  process  is  a  fine  black  fibre  resembling 
horse  hair.  A  mattress  stuffed  with  this  substance  may 
serve  for  a  year  if  not  wetted;  it  then  becomes  dirty, 
and  requires  that  the  moss  should  be  taken  out  and  well 
beaten  ;  by  which  means  it  becomes  more  elastic  than  ever. 
I  had  a  mattress  filled  with  it  thus  prepared,  when  I  was 
at  Tampa  Bay,  and  I  thought  it  one  of  the  most  comfort 
able  beds  I  ever  slept  on. 

On  arriving  at  Tampa  Bay  we  found  another  company  of 
our  regiment  stationed  there,  two  companies  being  considered 


TKE    EVERGLADES.  10S 

requisite  for  the  protection  of  the  inhabitants  against  any 
.sudden  outbreak  of  the  Indians.  These,  to  the  amount  of 
several  hundred  warriors,  besides  squaws  and  children,  still 
occupy  a  large  tract  of  Florida  called  the  Everglades ;  where 
they  live  in  the  same  state  of  rude  savage  life  to  which  they 
were  accustomed  ere  the  first  of  the  pale  faces  left  a  foot 
print  on  their  sandy  shores.  Thev  have  game  in  abundance, 
herds  of  deer  roam  through  the  plains  and  glades,  and  crop 
their  luxuriant  herbage;  numerous  flocks  of  wild  turkeys 
roost  in  the  hummocks  at  night,  and  feed  in  the  openings 
and  pine  barrens  by  day ;  and  in  the  creeks  and  bays  of  the 
sea  coast,  or  in  the  large  fresh  water  lakes  of  the  interior, 
incredible  quantities  of  delicious  fish  are  easily  caught. 
Round  their  villages,  in  the  selection  of  a  site  for  which 
they  display  excellent  taste  and  judgment,  they  usually  cul 
tivate  a  small  portion  of  the  soil  in  raising  maize,  or 
edible  roots ;  and  the  little  labour  which  this  requires  is  per 
formed  by  the  women  and  children.  In  this  delicious 
climate,  where  there  is  perpetual  verdure,  and  where  the 
existence  of  cold  or  winter  is  scarcely  known  or  felt,  the  mode 
of  living  of  these  savages  seems  not  so  very  disagreeable, 
and  with  their  ideas  of  comfort  they  must  find  Florida 
a  complete  Indian  paradise.  It  is  not  much  to  be  wondered 
at,  therefore,  to  find  them  so  reluctant  to  leave  for  a 
new  home  among  the  tribes  of  the  Indian  Territory.  Sooner 
than  submit  to  this,  about  fifteen  years  ago  they  waged 
an  unequal  war  with  the  United  States ;  which  lasted  several 
years,  and  cost  America  nearly  as  much,  it  is  said,  as  the 
late  war  in  Mexico.  At  the  present  time  there  are  not  in 
Florida  more  than  a  fourth,  it  is  supposed,  of  the  number 
who  were  there  at  the  commencement  of  the  war  ;  as  a 
great  many  of  them  at  various  times  accepted  the  terms 
offered  by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and 


104  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER      N    MEXICO. 

were  transported  to  a  tract  of  land  called  the  Indian  Terri 
tory,  lying  between  Arkansas  and  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Those  who  refused  to  leave,  and  who  were  finally  permitted 
to  remain  in  a  portion  of  Florida  defined  by  certain  bounda 
ries,  have  been  variously  estimated  at  from  three  to  five 
hundred  warriors.  But  as  they  have  almost  no  intercourse 
with  the  inhabitants,  white  men  not  being  suffered  to 
approach  their  villages,  it  is  very  difficult  to  form  anything 
like  a  correct  estimate  of  their  numbers.  The  government 
agent,  stationed  at  Fort  Charlotte,  a  small  settlement  near 
their  boundary  line,  for  the  purpose  of  trading  with  them, 
and  who  has  been  desired  by  the  government  to  endeavour 
without  exciting  their  suspicions  to  ascertain  their  numbers, 
reckons  them  at  five  hundred,  exclusive  of  women  and 
children.  Those  who  remain  are  part  of  the  tribe  or  nation 
of  Seminoles ;  they  were  as  tall  on  an  average  as  the  men  of 
our  regiment,  and  though  not  near  so  athletic  or  muscular, 
generally  more  graceful  in  personal  appearance.  They  have 
more  yellow  than  copper  in  their  complexion,  and  have  the 
high  prominent  cheek  bones,  and  that  quick,  furtive,  and 
suspicious  glance  of  the  Indian  race,  which  seems  watching 
every  moment  to  make  a  sudden  spring  in  the  event  of  any 
appearance  of  treachery.  Some  of  their  young  squaws  have 
a  very  pleasing  expression  of  countenance,  and  I  have  seen 
one  or  two  of  these  who  I  believe  would  be  pronounced 
beautiful  if  compared  with  the  prouder  belles  of  European 
cities.  The  men,  or  warriors,  walk  with  a  most  dignified 
and  majestic  carriage,  and  an  air  of  stoic  composure  highly 
imposing.  They  wear  moccasins  made  of  dee '-skin,  and  of 
their  own  manufacture ;  and  go  bare-legged  in  a  *hort-sleeved 
sort  of  tunic,  confined  at  the  waist  and  falling  down  nearly 
to  the  knees  in  the  manner  of  a  Highlander's  kilt,  to 
whose  ancient  costume  that  of  the  Florida  Indians  of  the 


INDIAN    VISITORS.  105 

present  day  bears  a  considerable  resemblance,  especially 
when  seen  at  a  short  distance.  Some  of  them  ornament 
their  dress  with  beads  and  shells,  which  they  sometimes  wear 
in  their  hair  also,  and  both  men  and  women  are  fond  of 
wearing  large  silver  rings  in  their  ears  and  through  their 
nostrils. 

Parties  of  twenty  or  thirty  of  these  strange-looking  visitors 
frequently  came  into  the  village  of  Tampa  Bay  while  we  lay 
there.  They  were  always  accompanied  by  a  sub-chief,  a  sort  of 
lieutenant,  who  had  charge  of  the  party,  and  their  object  was 
to  exchange  deer-skins  for  powder  and  other  necessary  arti 
cles.  They  frequently  brought  a  few  turkeys  or  a  few  pieces  of 
venison,  part  of  the  game  they  had  shot  as  they  came  along ; 
these  they  sold  cheap  enough,  a  turkey  fetching  a  quarter, 
and  a  piece  of  venison  of  fifteen  or  twenty  pounds  weight, 
half  a  dollar.  They  always  visited  the  barracks  when  they 
came  to  the  village,  walking  through  the  rooms  and  shaking 
hands  with  the  soldiers  in  a  perfectly  friendly  manner.  None 
of  them,  however,  understood  English,  and  we  were  all  equally 
ignorant  of  the  Seminole,  so  that  our  discourse  was  necessarily 

6  •> 

limited  to  the  language  of  pantomime,  at  which  they  seemed 
a  vast  deal  more  apt  than  our  men.  They  showed  us  marks 
of  gunshot  wounds  they  had  received  in  the  Florida  war  on 

O  •/ 

various  parts  of  their  bodies,  pointing  to  our  muskets  at  the 
same  time  and  shaking  their  heads ;  and  they  seemed  highly 
delighted  when  one  or  two  of  our  soldiers,  who  had  been  in 
the  Florida  war,  showed  them  similar  marks,  making  signs 
that  they  had  received  them  from  the  Indians.  They  laughed 
and  talked  to  one  another  with  great  animation  and  glee  at 
this  circumstance.  But  the  great  attraction  for  them  was  two 
six-pounder  pieces,  which  stood  in  front  of  the  quarters  ;  they 
always  approached  these  with  looks  of  the  greatest  curiosity, 
arid  apparent  awe,  cautiously  patting  them  as  if  to  propitiate 

5* 


106  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

them.  They  have  the  most  exaggerated  ideas  of  the  destruc 
tive  effects  of  artillery,  of  which  they  stand  in  horrible  dread  ; 
and  some  of  our  men  who  were  in  the  Florida  war  asserted 
that  a  chief  cause  of  so  many  Indians  having  surrendered 
towards  the  close  of  the  war,  was  owing  to  the  Americans 
having  procured  two  or  three  light  field-pieces,  though,  owing 
to  the  swampy  nature  of  the  country,  they  could  not  have 
used  them.  As  they  always  behaved  quietly  in  the  garrison, 
they  were  never  hindered  from  strolling  round  any  part  of  it, 
strict  orders  being  given  to  the  soldiers  not  to  molest  them. 
They  used  no  more  ceremony  with  the  officers  than  with 
the  men,  frequently  walking  up  to  them  on  the  parade,  or 
into  their  quarters,  and  offering  to  shake  hands  with  them 
with  the  most  perfect  nonchalance. 

On  paying  one  of  these  visits  to  the  village  it  was  custo 
mary  for  them  to  have  a  bout  of  drinking  and  dancing  ;  a 
sort  of  Indian  ball,  which  they  held  in  a  yard  behind  a  house 
in  the  village  appropriated  exclusively  to  their  use.  The 
entertainments  of  the  evening,  on  these  occasions,  usually 
consisted  in  smoking  and  drinking  whiskey  until  pretty  late, 
a  few  of  them  dancing  at  intervals  in  the  most  ungraceful  and 
even  ludicrous  attitudes  imaginable.  They  wound  up  the 
evening  generally  with  a  war  dance,  in  which  all  who  were 
not  too  drunk  joined.  This  dance  commences  slow  at  first 
to  a  low  monotonous  chaunt,  and  increases  in  rapidity  of 
time  and  movement  until,  like  the  witches'  dance  in  Tarn  o' 
Shanter,  "the  mirth  and  fun  grow  fast  and  furious,"  and  they 
yell  and  whoop  like  a  set  of  demons  or  incarnate  fiends.  On 
these  occasions,  they  sometimes  quarrelled  among  themselves, 
and  ended  the  night  with  a  general  squabble ;  yet  as  care 
was  always  taken,  on  their  arrival,  to  have  their  arm  taken 
from  them  and  locked  up,  until  they  were  ready  to  return 
home,  there  was  no  danger  of  any  serious  accident  occurring. 


GENERAL    DESCRIPTION    OF    FLORIDA.  107 

Florida  received  its  name  from  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  from 
his  having  discovered  it  on  Palm  Sunday  (in  Spanish  Pasqua 
Florida),  in  1512  ;  and  not,  as  many  of  its  inhabitants  believe, 
on  account  of  the  beauty  of  the  wild  flowers  and  the 
shrubs  which  it  produces,  and  of  which  it  certainly  exhibits 
a  splendid  profusion.*  It  is  natural,  however,  to  suppose,  that 
the  charm  of  the  scenery,  and  especially  the  singular  beauty 
and  luxuriance  of  many  of  the  strange  shrubs  and  trees,  which 
would  seem  so  wonderful  to  the  Spaniards  on  their  first  land 
ing,  may  have  confirmed  the  adoption  of  the  idea  originally 
suggested  by  its  striking  appropriateness.  A  great  portion 
of  the  peninsula  of  Florida  is  sandy,  and  not  much  adapted 
to  cultivation ;  but  there  are  rich  tracts  here  and  there  com 
posed  of  hummock  and  swamp,  which  may  yet,  when  cleared 
and  drained,  yield  a  rich  reward  to  the  cultivator.  There  are 
some  prett .  extensive  cotton  plantations  on  some  parts  of  it, 
and  sugar-cane,  tobacco,  rice,  Indian  corn,  and  every  other 
variety  of  tropical  produce  or  fruits,  may  be  successfully  cul- 
ih*ated  where  the  soil  is  good.  Still,  as  long  as  the  Indians 
remain  in  its  borders,  its  resources  will  never  have  a  fair 
chance  of  development,  as'  the  distant  settler  can  have  no 
security  for  life  or  property  while  they  are  in  the  vicinity. 
During  the  winter  the  weather  in  Florida  is  delightful,  the 
ground  being  quite  dry  and  the  atmosphere  clear,  and  of  that 
exquisite  medium  with  regard  to  heat,  neither  too  hot  nor  too 
cold,  which  one  feels  to  give  a  bracing  and  invigorating  tone 
to  the  constitution,  and  a  pleasant  buoyancy  to  the  spirits. 
In  summer  the  ground  is  wet  and  swampy,  a  large  part  of 
the  surface  resembling  a  complete  marsh,  owing  to  the  fre 
quent  and  heavy  rains  which  fall  during  that  season,  the  level 
nature  of  the  surface,  and  bad  natural  drainage.  It  was  pur 
chased  from  Spain  by  the  United  States  in  1821,  and  was 
constituted  a  state  <n  1845. 


108  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

Our  duties  were  very  light  while  we  lay  at  Tampa  Bay, 
we  mounted  guard  about  once  every  fourth  day  on  an  ave 
rage,  and  when  off  guard  we  had  two  parades  each  day,  suc 
ceeded  by  an  hour's  drill.  On  the  morning  after  that  on 
which  we  came  off  guard  we  had  to  work  a  few  hours  in 
policing  "the  garrison,  and  in  cutting  the  usual  allowance  of 
wood  for  general  consumption ;  the  rest  of  our  time,  except 
that  required  for  cleaning  our  clothes,  arms,  and  accoutre 
ments,  was  at  our  own  disposal.  Our  commanding  officer, 
while  we  lay  at  this  post,  adopted  an  excellent  method  for 
teaching  young  soldiers  how  to  use  their  muskets  with  effect. 
As  we  always  loaded  with  ball  cartridge  when  we  mounted 
guard,  in  place  of  drawing  the  cartridge  when  we  were  relieved 
on  the  succeeding  morning,  we  were  marched  down  in  front 
of  a  target,  which  stood  with  its  back  to  the  sea ;  and  being 
placed  at  a  distance  of  about  a  hundred  and  twenty  yards 
from  it,  each  of  the  guard  discharged  his  musket  at  it  in  suc 
cession.  The  sergeant  of  the  guard  accurately  marked  each 
shot,  and  he  whose  ball  went  nearest  the  centre  of  the  target 
was  excused  from  mounting  guard  the  next  time  it  came  to 
his  turn.  This  produced  a  great  deal  of  emulation  amongst 
all  hands,  and  the  result  was,  that  most  of  them  soon  became 
excellent  shots.  * 

Having  xo  much  spare  time  on  hand,  our  men  frequently 
took  long  rambles  into  the  woods,  especially  during  the  fine 
dry  weather  ;  and  on  these  occasions,  for  some  time  after  our 
arrival  in  Tampa  Bay,  there  was  a  danger  of  getting  so 
utterly  lost  in  the  woods,  as  not  to  be  able  to  find  the  way 
home ;  thus  incurring  a  serious  risk  of  dying  of  starvation. 
An  occurrence  of  this  description  happened  shortly  after  our 
arrival,  showing  the  necessity  of  caution  in  making  these 
excursions,  at  least  until  we  were  a  little  better  acquainted 
with  the  surrounding  country.  A  young  man  belonging  to 


LOST    IN    THE    WOODS.  109 

our  company  had  gone  out  shooting  one  da}7,  by  himself,  and 
in  his  eagerness  for  the  sport  he  had  gone  a  considerable 
distance  away  from  the  path,  without  having  paid  sufficient 
attention  to  the  direction  in  which  it  lay,  to  le  able  to  find 
it  again.  When  he  began  to  think  of  returning,  he  found 
himself  completely  bewildered  by  the  resemblance  which  one 
part  of  the  flat,  monotonous  pine  forest  bore  to  another,  and 
wandered  about  until  evening,  trying  to  find  the  footpath, 
but  without  success.  As  he  had  not  returned  next  morning, 
his  absence  caused  much  speculation,  and  our  lieutenant, 
thinking  it  probable  that  he  might  be  starved  in  the  woods 
if  not  soon  discovered  and  assisted,  sent  a  party  of  twelve 
men  out  to  search  for  him.  They  were  to  go  in  parties  of 
two  or  three,  and  to  fire  their  muskets  occasionally,  at  some 
distance  from  the  road,  taking  care  not  to  lose  their  way  back 
to  it  themselves.  After  a  few  hours'  search,  he  was  disco 
vered  about  six  miles  from  the  garrison,  and  within  a  mile 
from  the  footpath.  He  was  very  nearly  exhausted  when 
found  by  the  party,  and  but  for  the  measures  taken  by  the 
lieutenant,  it  is  probable  that  he  would  soon  have  died  of 
sheer  hunger  and  fatigue,  as  he  had  not  the  slightest  idea 
of  being  able  to  find  his  way  home,  and  was  so  nearly  worn 
out,  that  he  could  not  have  walked  much  further.  He  had 
been  without  food  for  about  thirty  hours,  during  which  time 
he  supposed  he  had  walked  between  thirty  and  forty  miles, 
in  the  hope  of  arriving  at  some  habitation  or  road  that  would 
lead  to  one,  but  without  success ;  and  he  was  beginning  to 
lose  all  hope,  when  he  heard  th>  firing  of  the  jarty.  In 
this  portion  of  Florida,  it  i«  impossiMe  to  travel  above  a  few 
miles  without  having  to  make  a  circuit  to  avoid  an  impassa 
ble  swamp,  or  impenetrable  thicket  cabled  a  hummock  ;  and 
being  diverted  from  pursuing  a  straight  course  by  these 
obstacles,  he  had  probably  been  describing  a  series  of  circles 


110  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

within  a  short  distance  of  w^ere  he  was  discovered.  All  his 
ammunition  had  been  expended  before  he  knew  that  he  had 
lost  his  way,  so  that  he  had  not  the  means  of  killing  game 
or  kindling  a  fire  ;  but  at  night  he  had  pulled  a  quantity  of 
long  grass  which  grew  there,  and  covering  himself  up  with 
it,  he  managed  to  sleep  a  few  hours.  One  of  the  party,  at 
the  suggestion  of  the  lieutenant,  who  furnished  it  himself  for 
the  purpose,  had  brought  a  flask  of  brandy  along  with  him, 
and  having  given  him  a  portion  of  it  mixed  with  water,  and 
a  sandwich,  he  was  soon  so  far  recovered,  as  to  be  able  to 
walk  home  to  the  Fort  along  with  the  party. 

The  hummocks  of  Florida  are  a  peculiar  feature  of  the 
country.  The  uncleared  lands,  consisting  of  what  is  called 
pine  barrens,  are  wholly  composed  of  large  pine  trees  open 
to  air  and  light,  and  between  which  there  thrives  a  luxuriant 
undergrowth  of  palmettoes,  and  a  great  variety  of  richly 
scented  and  gorgeously-coloured  flowering  shrubs.  A  savan 
nah  of  tall  strong  grass,  five  or  six  feet  in  length,  which 
occurs  here  and  there,  and  an  occasional  swamp,  are  the  only 
relieving  features,  besides  the  hummocks,  which  diversify  the 
dreary  monotony  of  these  interminable  pine  barrens,  covering 
nearly  the  whole  surface  of  the  state,  of  which  there  is,  com 
paratively  speaking,  but  a  small  portion  under  cultivation. 
At  intervals  of  a  few  miles,  dense  forest  thickets,  containing 
magnificent  trees  of  every  description  common  in  Florida, 
except  the  pine,  occur  in  travelling  through  these  pine  bar 
rens.  Oak,  liquid  amber,  hickory,  chestnut,  cotton- wood,  and 
magnolia,  are  among  the  varieties  found  in  the  hummocks, 
which  vary  in  size  from  about  one  mile  to  two  or  three  in 
circumference.  The  b  rttoms  of  many  parts  of  them  are 
usually  swampy,  and  there  is  a  thick  undergrowth  of  thorny 
vshrubs  and  vines,  which  makes  it  exceedingly  difficult  to 
penetrate  into  their  dark  recesses.  During  the  Florida  war, 


NATURAL    FORTRESSES.  Ill 

the  constant  places  of  refuge  for  the  Indians  were  the  hum 
mocks,  an  I  woe  to  the  soldiers  who  followed  them  too  rashly  : 
Uncle  Sai.i's  troops  being  no  match  for  the  red  men  in  those 
natural  and  almost  impregnable  fortresses.  Wounded  deer 
frequently  fly  to  them  for  shelter,  and  when  one  of  them 
succeeds  in  reaching  the  skirts  of  a  hummock,  after  having 
been  wounded  at  some  distance,  without  the  assistance  of  a 
good  dog,  there  is  small  chance  of  discovering  its  dying  place. 
I  have  sometimes  been  seduced  into  their  dark  and  sombre 
shades,  in  following  a  flock  of  turkeys  which  had  taken  shel 
ter  in  the  branches  of  some  of  the  gigantic  trees  ;  on'  such 
occasions  I  have  generally  been  compelled  to  emerge  from 
their  treacherous  recesses  with  torn  clothes,  face  and  hands 
scratched,  and  bemired  up  to  the  middle  with  the  mud  of  the 
swamp.  In  going  through  these  hummocks,  one  sees  the 
fallen  trunks  of  large  decayed  trees  lying  scattered  on  the 
ground  in  all  directions  ;  these  are  very  inviting  to  step  on, 
when  one  imagines  he  is  in  danger  of  sinking  up  to  the  arm 
pits  in  a  swamp  hole.  Beware,  however,  I  would  say  to  the 
inexperienced  and  incautious  stranger,  how  you  tread  on 
these  fallen  trunks  ;  try  them  with  your  foot  gently,  and  see 
if  they  are  sound  ;  many  of  them  are  rotten  and  hollow,  and 
some  of  them  contain  dry  lodging  for  a  numerous  and  thriv 
ing  colony  of  moccasins  or  rattlesnakes,  a  single  puncture 
from  the  venomous  tooth  of  one  of  which  would  make  you 
grievously  rue  your  reckless  intrusion  on  their  domestic  pri 
vacy. 

Snakes  of  a  great  many  different  varieties  are  very  nume 
rous  in  Florida.  During  the  winter  they  remain  in  their 
holes  in  a  torpid  state,  seldom  making  their  appearance  for 
two  or  three  months  during  that  season  ;  but  in  spring  and 
summer  I  never  went  out  to  take  a  walk  without  seeing  a 
number  of  them.  The  rattlesnake,  adder,  and  moccasin,  are 


112  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

three  different  species  found  there,  whose  bite  is  exceedingly 
dangerous,  and,  in'  many  cases,  fatal ;  but  they  all  luckily 
possess  a  very  quick  sense  of  hearing,  and  generally  contrive 
to  get  out  of  the  way  before  they  are  trcd  upon.  I  never 
heard  of  a  single  person  being  bitten  while  we  lay  there, 
though  in  summer  we  seldom  went  into  the  woods  without 
wearing  a  pair  of  very  strong  boots,  as  a  protection  against 
a  chance  bite.  These  boots  came  up  to  the  knees,  and  were 
worn  over  the  pantaloons. 

Alligators  are  numerous  in  the  ponds  and  rivers  of  Florida, 
and  may  often  be  seen  floating  with  the  stream  like  the 
trunk  of  a  tree,  while  watching  for  their  prey,  on  the  surface 
of  the  Hillsbro'  river,  close  to  the  garrison  at  Tampa  Bay. 
One  of  the  soldiers  who  caught  a  young  one,  brought  it  to 
the  garrison,  designing  to  rear  it  as  a  pet,  but  as  it  gave  no 
signs  of  profiting  by  the  opportunities  of  improvement 
afforded  it,  utterly  despising  the  soothing  system,  and  ex 
hibiting  in  the  most  undisguised  manner  the  natural 
depravity  and  apparently  incorrigibly  vicious  propensities  of 
the  alligator  family,  by  snapping  at  dogs,  children,  and  all 
who  came  near  it,  he  was  forced  to  destroy  it  as  a 
nuisance. 

Opossums,  racoons,  squirrels,  and  rabbits,  were  found  in 
the  woods  round  the  garrison,  and  a  great  variety  of  the 
feathered  tribes  frequented  its  vicinity,  among  which  were 
pelicans,  cranes,  ducks,  didappers,  partridges,  pigeons,  par- 
roquets,  vultures,  and  a  host  of  others.  Among  the  small 
birds  I  observed  several  species  of  the  humming-bird,  the 
blue-jay,  the  scarlet  oriole,  the  redbreast,  the  woodpecker, 
the  whip-poor-will,  with  that  glorious  ^  bird  of  inimitable 
song,  the  mocking-bird.  It  commences  to  sing  about  the 
beginning  of  the  month  of  March,  and  continues  to  the 
month  of  June.  The  celebrated  ornithologist,  Wilson,  has 


TUHTLE    AND    OYSTERS.  113 

given  a  description  of  this  bird,  which  I  had  read,  and  could 
scarcely  help  thinking  must  have  been  rather  too  highly 
coloured  and  laudatory,  until  I  had  heard  a  few  of  its  extra 
ordinary  performances,  when  I  freely  admitted  its  truth.  Its 
song,  to  which  I  have  often  listened  on  a  still  and  clear  moon 
light  night,  for  that  is  the  time  in  which  it  warbles  its  most 
melodious  strains,  is  indescribably  sweet.  It  is  the  only  real 
good  singing  bird  in  America ;  but  I  would  prefer  it  to  all 
the  linnets,  larks,  thrushes,  and  blackbirds  of  the  old  world. 

The  lagoon-like  bays  and  creeks  on  the  coast  of  Florida 
abound  with  many  excellent  varieties  of  fish,  and  turtle  are 
very  numerous  and  easily  caught.  We  often  had  turtle 
soup  at  Tampa  Bay,  as  turtle  could  be  bought  at  two  or 
three  cents  a  pound.  A  species  of  land  tortoise  called  a 
gopher,  which  burrows  in  the  sand,  is  obtained  in  the  woods 
by  digging  them  out  of  their  burrows  with  a  spade  ;  this 
made  a  very  delicious  soup,  which  some  preferred  to  turtle. 
There  is  an  excellent  oyster-bed  on  a  sand  bank  in  the  bay, 
about  six  miles  from  the  garrison  ;  and  occasionally  a  few  of 
the  men,  having  obtained  the  permission  of  the  Quarter- 
Master,  would  take  the  barge  and  go  down  for  a  supply  of 
ousters.  Going  down  at  low  water,  it  was  no  hard  task  to 
collect  as  many  oysters  as  the  whole  of  the  two  companies 
could  consume ;  nearly  all  parts  of  the  coast  of  Florida 
furnish  these  excellent  shell-fish  in  inexhaustible  quanti 
ties. 

I  had  been  about  six  months  in  Tampa  Bay,  when  a 
vacancy  happening  to  occur,  through  the  discharge  of  a 
corporal,  I  was  appointed  in  his  place.  I  could  easily  per 
ceive,  before  I  had  been  long  in  the  service,  that  a  corporal 
or  serjeant  held  no  very  enviable  position;  that  his  duties 
were  ill-defined,  and  the  system  of  discipline  loose  and  un 
satisfactory.  On  this  account  I  felt  no  satisfaction  at  my 


Ill  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

promotion ;  besides  I  had  no  adequate  mofive  for  submitting 
to  the  increased  trouble  and  responsibility,  as  I  had  no  in 
tention  of  remaining  long  in  the  service.  There  were  many 
things  transacted  of  which  I  strongly  disapproved,  and  1  did 
not  like  the  idea  of  sacrificing  my  individuality  and  con 
scientious  opposition  to  these,  by  accepting  this  office. 
Owing  to  these  rather  peculiar  views  of  mine,  I  would  most 
decidedly  have  declined  the  distinction,  had  the  opportunity 
occurred ;  but  I  was  not  aware  of  the  circumstance  of  my 
having  been  recommended  for  the  office  until  after  I  had 
been  appointed,  so  that  I  had  not  even  the  chance  of  refusal. 
Not  considering  myself,  therefore,  bound  to  a  subservient 
silence,  seeing  that  1  had  not  been  a  voluntary  acceptant  of 
the  office,  I  continued  to  disburden  myself  occasionally  by 
strictures  and  remarks,  which  I  have  no  doubt  must  have 
appeared  excessively  ungrateful  to  several  of  my  superiors. 
I  have  always  been  rather  partial  to  opposition. 

The  expected  war  with  Mexico  became  a  very  engrossing 
topic  while  we  lay  at  Tampa  Bay,  in  the  summer  of  1846, 
especially  after  the  news  arrived  of  General  Taylor's  first 
battle  on  the  Rio  Grande.  The  mail,  which  was  carried 
through  by  a  man  on  horseback  from  Augustine,  a  town  on 
the  seacoast,  about  a  hundred  miles  distant,  arrived  only 
once  a  fortnight.  Sometimes,  on  account  of  the  flooded 
state  of  the  rivers,  which  had  all  to  be  forded,  as  there  are 
no  bridges  in  Florida,  it  did  not  arrive  until  several  days 
after  its  time ;  on  such  occasions  its  arrival,  an  event  at  any 
time,  caused  the  most  intense  excitement  and  eager  expecta 
tion,  our  officers  on  those  occasions  frequently  walking  down 
to  the  post-office,  and  waiting  for  their  own  letters  and 
papers.  On  the  clay  on  which  the  news  of  General  Taylor's 
victory  at  Palo  Alto  ard  Resaca  de  la  Palma  arrived,  one 
of  our  officers  having  torn  the  envelope  of  a  newspaper  and 


A.  MILITARY    DEBATING    SOCIETY.  115 

read  a  paragraph  or  two,  suddenly  took  off  his  cap,  threw 
it  up  in  the  air,  and  began  to  huzza  and  caper,  in  the  height 
of  his  exultation,  much  to  the  astonishment  of  the  spectators, 
until  he  explained  that  General  Taylor  had  gained  a  victory. 
As  for  the  soldiers,  I  believe  they  were  all  very  glad  that,  as 
there  had  been  a  battle  fought,  General  Taylor  had  won  it; 
but  there  was  very  little  enthusiasm,  I  must  say,  at  the 
reception  of  the  news.  All  seemed  to  feel  a  presentiment 
of  those  "  comino-  events"  that  "cast  their  shadows  before;" 

O 

the  liubicon  was  passed,  and  the  present  victory  we  felt  to 
be  the  precursor  of  a  campaign  that  would  leave  the  bones 
of  manv  a  ^allant  fellow  rottino-  in  the  soil  of  Mexico.  As 

V  «*7  O 

for  the  .officer  here  alluded  to,  he  was  shot  dead  in  the  vici- 
nitv  of  the  city  of  Mexico  ;  had  he  seen  the  fate  that  awaited 
him,  it  would  probably  have  moderated  his  transports  at  the 
news  of  the  first  battle. 

As  a  means  of  passing  the  time  which  hung  rather  heavily 
on  our  hands  at  Tampa  Bay,  a  debating  society  was  formed 
in  the  company  to  which  I  belonged.  The  orderly  sergeant 
of  the  company,  a  young  man  named  Beebe,  belonging  to 
the  State  of  New  York,  gave  his  aid  in  its  formation  by 
becoming  an  active  member  himself,  and  procuring  the  use 
of  a  large  room  for  the  purpose  of  holding  the  meetings. 
The  rules  adopted  for  the  government  of  the  society  were 
few  and  simple,  and  any  soldier,  by  paying  a  small  stated 
sum  as  a  subscription  for  the  current  expenses,  &c.,  and 
reading  and  subscribing  to  the  regulations  of  the  society, 
kept  by  the  secretary,  might  become  a  member.  Out  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  men  in  the  two  companies  stationed 
here,  only  about  a  dozen  joined  the  society.  The  meetings 
were  held  once  a  week,  the  hours  being  from  seven  until 
nine  o'clock  on  Friday  evening :  they  were  open  to  all  wlio 
chose  to  attend,  the  room  being  always  well  filled ;  and  if 


116  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

they  added  no  great  amount  to  the  valuable,  though  rather 
unwielcjy  and  unclassified,  stock  of  materials  called  useful 
knowledge,  they  at  all  events  contributed  considerably  to 
the  stock  of  amusement.  These  meetings  were  conducted 
with  the  customary  decorum  of  similar  societies  in  civil  life ; 
a  president,  a  treasurer,  and  a  secretary,  were  elected  for  a 
month  at  a  time ;  these  formed  a  committee,  and  regulat 
ed  the  affairs  of  the  society.  The  president  gave  out  the. 
subject  for  the  ensuing  week's  discussion,  and  appointed  the 
member  whose  turn  it  was  to  open  the  discussion  by  a  short 
essay  on  the  question  to  be  discussed,  at  the  close  of  each 
night's  proceedings.  The  essay  was  either  read  or  spoken, 
at  the  option  of  the  party  delivering  it. 

When  it  was  first  proposed,  believing  that  it  could  do  no 
harm  if  it  did  no  good,  at  the  solicitations  of  several  of  its 
projectors,  I  agreed  to  join  it.  Among  them  were  several 
rather  clever  young  men,  possessing  a  good  deal  of  general 
information,  mingled  a  little  too  much,  perhaps,  with  that 
sort  of  consequential  air  of  self-conceit,  too  often  engendered. 
by  the  debating  society  system.  They  had  all  belonged  to 
debating  societies  in  various  parts  of  the  Union.  Amongst 
these,  Benthall,  an  American,  had  belonged  to  one  in  his 
native  city,  Philadelphia ;  Williams  and  Vanduzer,  Ameri 
cans,  to  one  in  Boston  ;  and  Beebe,  to  one  in  some  town  in 
the  State  of  New  York.  These  four  were  Americans,  pos 
sessed  of  a  good  deal  of  natural  acuteness,  along  with  a  good 
education,  and  considerable  information.  Davis  and  Xutt 
were  Englishmen  ;  Donahoe,  Lonergan,  Madden,  and  one  or 
twro  more,  were  from  the  green  isle  ;  while  I  was  the  sole 
representative  of  the  land  o'cakes. 

The  question  proposed,  as  the  subject  of  the  first  night's 

'discussion,  wras  as  follows  :  "  Whether  is  love  or  anger  the 

'  more  powerful  passion  ?"     I  had  been  appointed  by  the  pre- 


AN    ORATOR    LOST.  11 7 

»ident  to  open  the  discussion  by  tbe  introductory  essay,  which 
I  Lad  been  at  considerable  pains  in  arranging,  as  I  wished 
to  deliver  it  without  the  assistance  of  notes,  calculating  of 
course  on  producing  an  effect  by  this  studied  carelessness  of 
manner.  The  vanity  of  wishing  to  be  considered  wise,  is  not 
wholly  confined  to  young  men  of  learning  ;  and  the  ambition 
of  being  thought  a  distinguished  orator,  or  a  clever  chopper 
of  logic,  may  sometimes  be  found  lurking  beneath  the 
worsted  epaulette  of  the  soldier,  as  well  as  under  the  digni 
fied  and  patrician  toga  of  the  bar  or  the  pulpit. 

In  the  meantime,  a  trifling  misadventure  came  very  near 
turning  my  anticipated  triumph  into  a  complete  disgrace. 
That  no  lack  of  exertion  on  my  part  should  be  the  cause  of 
failure,  if  the  fates  had  decreed  adversely  to  my  success,  I 
resolved  on  practising  a  recitation  of  my  essay  in  the  woods. 
Accordingly,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  day  appointed  for  the 
debate,  sallying  out  with  a  rifle  on  my  shoulder,  I  soon 
reached  a  convenient  spot,  and  thoroughly  repeated  my  exer 
cise,  having  done  which  I  pursued  my  way  still  farther  into 
the  woods,  until  warned  by  the  lengthening  shades  of  the 
tall  pines  that  evening  was  rapidly  approaching.  It  only 
wanted  about  an  hour  of  sunset  when  I  began  to  plod  my 
way  homeward  to  the  Fort.  "While  walking  leisurely  along, 
I  observed  a  small  blue  bird,  about  the  size  of  a  sparrow, 
sitting  on  a  twig  that  overhung  the  path.  In  a  moment  of 
thoughtlessness  I  stopped  and  took  aim  at  it  with  my  rifle ; 
I  was  about  seventy  or  eighty  yards  from  it,  the  point  blank 
range  of  my  piece,  which  carried  one  hundred  and  twenty 
to  the  pound.  As  I  had  not  practised  much  with  the  rifle 
then,  I  could  not  have  expected  to  hit  at  that  distance ;  I 
drew  the  trigger,  however,  and  the  bird  dropped  from  the 
branch.  I  looked  with  remorse  on  its  mangled  and  torn 
corpse,  and  felt  that  I  had  committed  an  unhallowed  viola 


118  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

tion  of  the  quiet  sanctity  of  the  wilderness,  that  seemed  ti 
call  out  for  vengeance.  Angry  at  myself  for  doing  thai 
which  I  had  frequently  reprobated  in  others,  and  desirous  of 
leaving  those  frowning  pines,  which  one  might  also  fane) 
were  accusing,  though  silent,  witnesses  of  this  needles? 
slaughter,  I  turned  into  another  path,  which.  I  thought  led 
by  a  shorter  way  into  the  Fort.  After  walking  about  two 
miles,  I  found  that  I  had  overrated  my  knowledge  of  that 
parlf  of  the  Country,  and  that  I  was  completely  at  fault.  To 
go  back  to  where  I  had  left  the  main  road  would  have  been 
the  most  certain  way  to  correct  my  error  ;  but  it  would  have 
delayed  me  considerably,  and  I  should  have  nearly  seven 
miles  to  walk  if  I  retraced  my  steps.  Besides,  by  so  doing, 
I  might  be  too  late  for  the  meeting,  and  I  felt  that  if  I  failed 
to  make  my  appearance,  my  absence  might  be  construed 
into  a  want  of  confidence  in  my  own  ability.  I  therefore  re 
solved  upon  taking  a  straight  line  for  the  highway  through 
the  bushes,  by  which  I  hoped  to  reduce  the  distance  to  about 
two  miles.  I  started  on  this  resolution,  and  for  the  first  mile 
or  so  I  got  on  very  well,  the  ground  being  firm,  and  the 
bushes  not  too  thick.  But  at  last  difficulties  began  to  mul 
tiply,  in  the  shape  of  thorny  vines,  that  sometimes  tripped 
my  feet,  and  at  others,  enveloped  my  whole  body  in  their 
meshes,  tearing  my  clothes  and  skin.  At  other  times  I  got 
up  to  the  middle  in  a  swamp,  when  I  was  forced  to  go  back 
and  make  a  circuit  to  avoid  it.  At  last  I  was  nearly  losing 
both  hope  and  patience,  night  was  fast  closing  around,  and  I 
was  beginning  to  think  I  should  have  to  pass  the  night  in 
the  woods.  I  am  not  very  superstitious,  I  believe  ;  but  the 
recollection  of  the  bird  so  wantonly  killed,  haunted  my  me 
mory  just  at  that  moment;  like  Coleridge's  "Ancient  Mari 
ner,"  I  had  done  "  a  hellish  thing,"  in  slaying  that  innocent 
bird.  Was  this  entanglement  the  penance  inflicted  by  the 


MILITARY    AND    CIVIL    ELOQUENCE.  119 

spirit  of  the  woods  ?  The  certain  ridicule  of  my  comrades 
if  I  should  not  be  at  the  meeting,  again  occurring  to  my 
mind,  i  was  prompted  to  make  another  vigorous  effort;  and 
after  toiling  for  about  half  an  hour,  I  reached  the  highway, 
about  half  a  mile  from  the  Fort,  with  no  more  injury  than 
torn  and  soiled  clothes,  and  a  few  deep  scratches  from  the 
prickly  vines,  across  my  face  and  hands.  Glad  to  find  it  was 
no  worse,  I  resumed  my  journey,  and  was  home  in  time 
enough  to  be  able  to  change  my  clothes,  wash,  and  take 
some  refreshment  before  making  my  appearance  at  the  meet 
ing,  where  I  managed  to  acquit  myself  tolerably  well  to  my 
own  satisfaction,  as  well  as  that  of  my  friends. 

Our  society  existed  about  three  months,  a  longer  period 
than  I  had  calculated  on  its  continuance  at  its  first  com 
mencement,  and  I  believe  that  but  for  the  choice  of  a  sub 
ject  for  discussion  of  a  rather  injudicious  nature,  at  least 
considering  that  the  society  merely  existed  by  sufferance,  it 
might  have  continued  to  flourish  while  we  remained  in  that 
garrison.  "With  a  good  deal  of  the  absurd  and  ridiculous, 
there  was  occasionally  a  very  fair  display  of  talent  and  abi 
lity  at  these  debates.  The  lawyer  and  the  schoolmaster  of  the 
village,  who  attended  one  evening,  attracted  by  curiosity  and 
the  fame  of  the  discussions,  were  heard  to  express  their  as 
tonishment  and  gratification  at  the  skill  which  some  of  the 
members  displayed  in  handling  the  topic  of  the  evening.  I 
am  much  mistaken  if  I  have  not  seen  more  indifferent  spe 
cimens  of  eloquence  in  the  newspaper  columns,  as  emana 
tions  of  the  legislative  wisdom  of  the  greatest  nation  in  ex 
istence,  than  some  of  the  speeches  I  have  heard  delivered  in 
that  society  ;  and  no  mighty  encomium  either,  the  reader 
will  perhaps  think,  if  he  has  been  in  the  habit  of  perusing 
one  of  the  Washington  daily  or  tri-weekly  papers.  The 
question  wli  ich  was  commonly  supposed  to  have  extinguished 


120  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

our  society  was  to  the  following  effect,  "  Whether  does  the 
civil  or  military  life  offer  the  highest  rewards  arid  incentives 
to  an  honourable  ambition  ?"  This  question  was  propounded 
by  Theoretical  Davis,  as  JSTutt  called  him,  who  was  anxious 
to  produce  several  very  important  facts  bearing  on  the  sub 
ject,  which  I  am  afraid  are  now  lost  to  the  world  for  ever. 
Whether  the  commanding  officer  had  heard  the  subject  pro 
posed  for  discussion,  and  considered  that  it  trenched  on 
rather  dangerous  ground,  we  never  correctly  ascertained, 
though  such  was  the  current  opinion.  This  much  is  certain, 
that  a  few  days  before  our  next  meeting,  he  issued  an  order 
signifying  his  disapproval  of  these  societies,  as  being  con 
trary  to  the  spirit  of  the  regulations  of  the  service ;  so,  of 
course,  there  was  no  more  to  be  said  on  the  subject.  A  meet 
ing  of  the  members  was  called  one  evening  for  the  purpose 
of  deciding  upon  the  best  means  of  disposing  of  the  surplus 
funds  in  the  hands  of  the  treasurer,  when  it  was  proposed, 
and  carried  without  a  dissenting  voice,  that  as  much  whis 
key  as  the  money  would  procure,  should  be  furnished  and 
produced  on  the  table  forthwith.  This  was  done  accordingly, 
and  an  exceedingly  convivial  evening  was  the  result  of  this 
spirited  motion. 


CHAPTER  X. 

General  Scott — The  Coast  of  Mexico — A  jolly  Captain — A  Gale  of 
Wind — The  River— Tampico. 

ABOUT  the  beginning  of  October,  1846,  we  received  a  large 
draft  of  recruits  from  Governor's  Island,  who  were  distributed 
between  the  two  companies  lying  at  Tampa  Bay,  increasing 
each  to  about  eighty-six  men ;  this  we  considered  very  like  a 
hint  to  prepare  for  a  move  to  Mexico.  General  Scott,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  war  with  Mexico,  had  been  accused 
of  a  want  of  skill,  courage,  and  patriotism,  by  a  large  portion 
of  the  captain  Bobadil  editors  of  the  "  great  nation."  This 
abuse  he  had  received  principally,  I  believe,  in  consequence 
of  declining  to  adopt  the  very  simple  and  cheap  method 
recommended  by  the  said  Bobadils ;  which  was  to  march 
through  every  town  in  Mexico  with  a  regiment  of  five 
hundred  men,  and  wind  up  with  taking  deliberate  possession 
of  the  halls  of  the  Montezumas,  where  he  should  remain 
until  the  Mexicans  were  inclined  to  come  to  terms.  General 
Scott,  who  knew  how  to  "bide  his  time,"  had  wraited 
patiently,  quietly  digesting  the  hasty  plate  of  soup,  the  bare 
mention  of  which  had  caused  so  much  commotion  among 
people  of  weak  stomachs  throughout  the  country  generally. 
At  last  the  President  and  his  advisers,  seeing  no  prospect  of 
a  speedy  and  successful  issue  to  the  war  without  putting  his 
military  talents  into  requisition,  which  they  were  quite 
willing  to  discover,  or  acknowledge,  as  long  as  they  stood  in 
need  of  them,  began  to  think  of  employing  him.  The  plan 

6 


122  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

of  marching  through,  the  country  with  five  hundred  men 
was  now  rarely  spoken  of,  and  the  expedition  preparing  at 
the  suggestion  of  General  Scott,  was  being  fitted  out  on  a 
scale  somewhat  commensurate  with  the  importance  of  the 
undertaking  contemplated  ;  which  was  generally  understood 
to  be  the  reduction  of  Vera  Cruz,  and  a  subsequent  inarch  to 
the  gates  of  the  city  of  Mexico. 

On  the  10th  of  December  arrived  the  order  which  we  had 
been  long  expecting ;  wre  were  to  be  in  readiness  for  imme 
diate  embarkation,  being  required  to  join  the  present  expedi 
tion  fitting  out  for  the  reduction  of  Vera  Cruz.  Our  place 
at  Tampa  Bay,  which,  on  account  of  the  Indians  in  its 
neighbourhood, jsould  not  be  left  wholly  defenceless,  was  to 
be  supplied  by  a  body  of  Volunteers  raised  in  Florida  for 
the  purpose,  until  the  war  in  Mexico  should  cease.  So 
desirous  were  wre  of  escaping  from  the  dull  monotony  of  this 
place,  of  which  we  were  exceedingly  tired,  that  I  believe 
many  heard  the  orders  to  prepare  for  leaving  it  with  much 
satisfaction.  But  the  married  men,  whose  wives  and  families 
were  all  to  be  left  behind,  were  looking  very  dull ;  and  as  for 
the  wife  of  our  Lieutenant,  who  had  four  small  children,  she 
cried  for  a  whole  day,  it  was  said,  when  the  order  came. 
£oor  woman !  if  she  could  have  foreseen  that  her  husband 
was  to  fall  mortally  wounded,  pierced  in  the  body  with  three 
musket-balls,  at  the  battle  of  Churubusco,  about  nine  months 
after  receiving  that  order,  she  would  have  cried  still  more 
bitterly.  The  wives  and  families  of  officers  and  soldiers 
were  allowed  by  government  to  remain  in  the  quarters  they 
occupied  when  their  husbands  left ;  they  were  also  furnished 
with  rations  until  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  when  they  were 
to  be  forwarded  to  those  o-arrisons  to  which  their  husbands 

CD 

werersent. 

About  a  fortnight  after  we  had  received  the  order  to  be 


A    MILD    FORM    OF    INSANITY.  123 

in  readiness,  a  merchant  brig,  called  the  John  Potter,  arrived 
to  take  us  to  Tampico,  a  port  about  two  hundred  miles  east 
of  Vera  Cruz,  where  the  forces  destined  for  General  Scott's 
expedition  were  to  be  concentrated.  We  embarked  on  the 
1st  January,  1847,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  2nd  we  set 
sail,  and  having  a  fair  wind,  soon  lost  sight  of  the  low-lying, 
sandy  coast  of  Florida.  We  found  our  accommodation  in 
the  John  Potter  rather  limited,  there  being  nearly  two 
hundred  men  on  board  a  vessel  not  quite  three  hundred  tons 
burden  ;  but  one  comfort  was  that  we  were  spared  the 
annoyance  which  is  usually  caused  in  a  crowded  vessel  by 
women  and  children,  "there  not  being  a  single  stick  of  a 
petticoat  on  board,''  as  some  one  remarked.  My  comrade, 
Xutt,  and  two  or  three  more  of  the  soldiers,  who  had  been 
sailors  at  a  former  period  of  their  lives,  were  engaged,  with 
the  permission  of  our  commanding  officer,  to  help  to  work 
the  vessel,  which  had  left  Charleston  short  of  hands.  One  of 
the  crew  had  also  become  partially  insane  since  he  had  been 
shipped  there,  and  they  could  not  trust  him  to  da  much 
work.  He  had  just  been  discharged  from  hospital  at 
Charleston  when  he  came  on  board,  and  his  health  had  not 
been  firmly  established,  it  was  supposed,  as  he  had  a  pallid 
and  dejected  sort  of  look.  His  insanity  was  of  a  mild  form, 
arid  he  was  perfectly  quiet ;  but  he  insisted  that  the  ship 
swarmed  with  a  crew  of  horrible-looking  old  witches,  num 
bers  of  whom  he  saw  perched  upon  the  rigging,  and  who 
he  constantly  affirmed  would  lead  the  vessel  into  difficulty. 
Nothing  could  persuade  him  that  the  John  Potter  was  not  a 
doomed  craft,  that  would  never  leave  the  gulf;  and  though 
he  sometimes  took  a  turn  at  the  wheel,  steering  as  well  as 
the  others,  yet  he  kept  always  eyeing  the  rigging  with  a 
troubled  and  suspicious  glance.  One  of  our  recruits  who 
had  joined  with  the  late  draft  in  Tampa  Bay,  had  also 


124  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

become  insane  a  few  weeks  after  he  joined  ;  Le  was  named 
Hogg,  and  belonged  to  the  north  of  Ireland.  He  had  been 
in  hospital  for  some  time  previous  to  our  embarkation,  but 
the  surgeon  was  of  opinion  that  he  was  only  acting  the 
character  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  his  discharge,  and  he 
was  placed  in  charge  of  a  sentry  when  we  went  on  board. 
One  day,  when  the  sentry  having  him  in  charge  had  his 
attention  attracted  elsewhere,  Hogg,  having  climbed  over  the 
ship's  side,  got  into  the  forechains,  and  stripping  off  his 
clothes,  jumped  into  the  water.  The  vessel  was  going  at  the 
rate  of  three  or  four  knots  at  the  time,  and  before  we  could 
get  her  hove-to,  and  a  boat  lowered,  he  had  gone  nearly  a 
mile  astern,  and  had  he  not  been  a  very  good  swimmer,  he 
must  have  been  drowned.  As  sharks  were  numerous  in 
those  seas,  and  as  there  had  been  one  reported  alongside 
several  times  since  we  sailed,  few  questioned  the  fact  of  the 
poor  fellow's  insanity  after  that  occurrence,  and  shortly  after 
our  arrival  at  Tampico  he  was  discharged. 

On  the  morning  of  the  twelfth,  after  a  pleasant  voyage  of 
only  ten  days'  duration,  the  coast  of  Mexico  was  distinctly  in 
view.  We  had  the  cable  all  on  deck,  and  considering  the 
voyage  ended,  we  were  congratulating  each  other  upon  the 
short  and  withal  pleasant  trip  we  had  made.  But  we  were 
rather  premature,  as  it  fell  out,  and  our  voyage  was  not  to  be 
over  so  soon  as  we  anticipated.  It  is  a  very  good  old  saw, 
the  truth  of  which  we  fully  experienced  on  this  occasion, 
that  "  We  should  not  halloo  till  we  are  out  of  the  wood." 

We  had  the  clear  bold  outline  of  the  lofty  inland  range  of 
mountains,  which  the  coast  of  Mexico  there  presents,  in  view 
for  the  remainder  of  the  day ;  and  at  sunset  we  were  said  to 
be  within  twenty  miles  or  so  of  anchorage.  The  first  mate, 
who  was  an  excellent  sailor,  and  generally  considered  by  the 
crew  and  soldiers  to  be  the  most  competent  of  any  on  board, 


A    JOLLY    SKIPPER.  125 

was  very  anxious  that  we  should  run  into  anchorage  that 
High4".  He  was  of  opinion  that,  as  we  had  good  moonlight, 
and  the  wind  light  and  answerable,  we  should  run  in  during 
the  night,  and  drop  anchor  a  few  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Panuco,  when  we  would  be  ready  for  the  steamer  in 
the  morning,  which  would  tow  us  over  the  bar,  and  up  the 
river  to  Tampico.  But  unfortunately  the  captain  happened 
to  differ  in  opinion  with  him,  or  rather,  he  had  no  very 
decided  opinion  upon  the  matter,  it  being  said  that  he  com 
plied  with  the  wishes  of  some  of  our  officers,  who  thought 
there  was  danger  in  going  in  without  good  daylight.  The 
captain,  therefore,  resolved  upon  tacking  off  and  on  during 
the  ni'dit,  and  taking  his  chance  of  a  change  of  wind  in  the 

O         '  O  O 

shape  of  one  of  those  violent  gales  called  northers,  which 
are  prevalent  at  that  season,  and  which  was  the  contingency 
so  much  dreaded  by  the  mate  from  former  experience  on 
that  coast.  It  was  also  said  that  the  captain  had  a  capital 
stock  of  liquors  on  board,  which  he  wished  to  dispose  of 
before  entering  port ;  and  to  judge  from  the  rubicund  jollity 
of  his  countenance,  through  which  his  half-shut  blue  eyes 
twinkled  with  the  peculiar  silly-looking,  though  good- 
humoured  her  of  the  toper,  he  must  have  been  a  staunch 
anti-teetotaller.  During  the  whole  of  the  voyage,  up  to  the 
present  time,  he  had  seldom  made  his  appearance  upon  deck, 
having  left  the  sailing  of  the  vessel  wholly  to  the  first  mate, 
and  being  solely  occupied  meanwhile  in  carousing,  and 
drinking  bumpers  to  the  success  of  the  expedition,  along 
with  our  officers,  towards  whom  he  apparently  exercised 
an  excess  of  hospitality  that,  under  existing  circumstances, 
might  have  been  much  better  dispensed  with.  If  our 
officers,  as  lias  been  alleged,  really  influenced  the  decisions  of 
the  captain,  causing  him  to  keep  his  vessel  off  until  morning, 
in  place  of  leaving  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  the  mate, 


126  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

their   ignorant   and   presumptuous  interference  was  pretty 
severely  punished  by  the  result. 

Having  stood  oft'  and  on,  as  it  is  called  in  sea  phrase,  by 
tacking  at  short  intervals  during  the  night,  next  morning 
we  found  with  the  wind  we  had,  we  could  rim  in  to  an 
offing  in  four  or  five  hours.  The  appearance  of  the  morning 
was  rather  suspicious,  being  slightly  cloudy  and  showery, 
but  the  breeze  was  in  our  favour,  and  we  went  steadily  along 
at  the  rate  of  six  or  seven  knots  an  hour,  expecting  to  be  in 
the  river  by  noon.  At  eleven  o'clock  we  were  within  a 
couple  of  miles  of  the  anchorage,  and  the  pilot  coming  off  to 
board  us  was  only  about  half  a  mile  from  our  bows,  when  a 
heavy,  dark-looking  cloud  which  had  been  gathering  ahead  of 
us  for  the  previous  ten  minutes,  began  to  sprinkle  the  deck 
with  a  few  large  drops.  At  the  same  time  the  whistling  and 
hissing  sounds,  amongst  the  running  gear  and  shrouds, 
changing  finally  into  the  wild  roar  of  the  hurricane,  as  the 
vessel  careened  over  nearly  on  her  beam  ends,  showed  that 
there  was  no  time  to  be  lost ;  the  gale  was  on  us,  and 
our  only  chance  was  to  "  cut  and  run,"  as  the  sailors  term  it. 
Fortunately  the  storm  had  not  come  on  unobserved,  a 
number  of  the  sails  had  been  taken  in  previous  to  this,  and 
as  the  gale  came  on,  the  vessel  was  speedily  put  about,  and 
bounding  with  astonishing  velocity  from  the  harbour.  As 
for  the  pilot  he  was  close  in  shore,  having  run  for  the  nearest 
point  on  the  first  burst  of  the  gale.  The  captain,  who,  to  do 
him  justice,  was  a  very  good  sailor  when  he  was  roused,  and 
who  now  probably  saw  his  error,  and  regretted  that  he  had 
not  taken  the  mate's  advice  on  the  previous  evening, 
behaved  with  a  great  deal  of  energy  and  decision  ;  both  he 
and  the  mate  showing  by  their  example  how  a  sailor 
can  and  ought  to  work  in  an  emergency  like  the  present. 
Indeed  but  for  the  extraordinary  exertions  of  the  officers  and 


127 

sailors  composing  the  crew,  I  believe  we  should  have  been 
driven  on  the  sands;  and  some  days  afterwards,  when  the 
g-aie  had  moderated,  the  captain  confessed  that  we  had  a 
very  narrow  escape.  In  the  meantime,  under  close-reefed 
topsails  we  were  scudding  through  the  water  with  fearful 
velocity,  far  more  anxious  now  to  get  out  from  land,  than  \ve 
had  been  a  few  hours  ago  to  approach  it.  For  several  hours 
the  colour  of  the  water  warned  us  of  our  close  proximity  to 
the  shoal  sandy  coast,  fatal  to  so  many  gallant  vessels,  and 
it  was  evening  before  we  were  considered  out  of  any  imme 
diate  danger.  The  captain  and  mate  were  heard  to  agree 
while  conversing  together  on  the  subject,  that  but  for 
the  superior  qualities  of  the  John  Potter  in  sailing  close  to 
the  wind,  we  should  have  been  driven  on  a  lee  shore  in  spite 
of  the  best  seamanship  in  the  world.  It  was  a  knowledge 
of  the  frequency  of  these  north  gales  at  that  season  of  the 
year,  and  the  danger  of  being  caught  by  one  upon  a  lee 
shore,  that  made  the  mate  wish  to  run  in  on  the  previous 
night.  Had  the  captain  taken  his  advice  and  done  so, 
we  should  have  been  over  the  bar,  and  in  the  river  at 
anchor,  several  hours  before  the  gale  came  on  before  which 
we  were  now  driving  ;  but  the"e  was  no  use  for  unavailing 
regrets.  During  the  whole  morning's  proceedings,  the  sailor 
who  was  wrong  in  his  head,  sat  perched  on  the  point  of  the 
bowsprit  with  his  legs  crossed,  looking  up  at  the  rigging, 
and  in  towards  the  deck  of  the  vessel.  Amidst  all  the  rain 
and  wind,  and  the  bustle  of  putting  the  ship  about,  he  never 
stirred  from  his  position ;  towards  evening  one  of  the  men 
went  out,  and  coaxed  him  to  come  down.  "  I'm  blest  if  1 
know  what  to  make  of  that  unlucky  beggar,  and  his  strange 
lingo  about  witches  and  such  like,"  said  an  old  tar,  "  but  if 
so  be  as  how  there  is  witches  bringing  ill  luck  on  the  vessel, 
it  must  be  him  they  follow,  for  no  one  else  sees  them  but 


128  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

liim.  At  all  events,  if  I  was  the  skipper,  the  first  day  I 
went  into  port,  would  be  the  last  day  the  unlucky  beggar 
would  ever  put  a  foot  on  the  John  Potter's  deck." 

Steadily  and  without  intermission  for  the  next  three  days 
the  cold  bitter  north  blast  continued  to  blow.  I  have  never 
seen  a  gale  last  so  long  with  such  continuous  and  unmiti 
gated  fury.  We  had  one  comfort,  however,  in  the  midst  of 
our  misfortunes ;  this  was  found  in  the  admirable  qualities 
and  excellent  behaviour  of  the  John  Potter  ;  these  consti 
tuted  a  theme  of  universal  praise.  "  She  was  not  a  very 
handsome  built  craft  wasn't  the  John  Potter"  one  of  the  old 
tars  remarked,  the  same  old  fellow  who  made  the  remarks 
about  witches,  but  blest  if  he  ever  seed  a  craft  that  seemed  to 
understand  what  you  wanted  of  her,  or  would  do  it  move 
cheerfully  than  this  same  craft,  "  Why,  bless  your  soul,"  he 
continued,  "  half  of  your  fine  Baltimore  clippers  would  have 
been  lying  on  the  sands  if  they  had  been  in  our  place  the 
other  morning  ;  give  me  the  craft  that  never  misses  in  sta\>, 
and  lies  well  to  the  wind."  u  Be  the  blessed  bird  of  heaven  ! 
if  she  doesn't  watch  the  waves  coming  and  ride  on  the  top 
of  them  like  a  duck,"  said  Dennis  Mulloney.  "  Yaw,  dat  is 
vat  you  call  a  wasser  duck,"  said  a  phlegmatic-looking  Dutch 
man,  as  the  combing  of  a  huge  wave  broke  over  the  bulwarks 
to  windward,  giving  the  party  a  tolerable  specimen  of  the 
douche,  and  thoroughly  drenching  their  clothes  from  head  to 
foot.  While  the  gale  continued  very  few  of  the  men  stayed 
upon  deck,  and  as  the  vessel  pitched  a  good  deal,  they  with 
few  exceptions  lay  in  their  berths  nearly  all  the  time  it  last 
ed,  a  period  of  nearly  three  days,  during  which  time  of 
course  we  never  attempted  cooking.  With  some  of  my  com 
rades  I  managed  to  crawl  upon  deck,  now  and  then,  to  have 
a  look  at  the  weather,  and  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the  appear 
ance  of  the  sea  upon  these  occasions.  The  huge  black  inky 


SHOUT    COMMONS.  129 

looking  masses  of  water,  with  their  superb  crests  of  snow- 
white  foam,  as  they  came  rolling  on,  presented  a  spectacle 
at  once  grand,  magnificent,  and  appalling.  Three  or  four  of 
these  huge  waves  bounded  the  visible  horizon,  as  the  drifting 
spray  prevented  us  from  seeing  more  than  two  or  three  hun 
dred  yards  on  each  side  of  the  vessel. 

At  length  the  gale  having  fairly  exhausted  its  fury,  we 
began  to  entertain  hopes  of  speedily  regaining  the  port  from 
which  we  had  been  so  suddenly  and  unceremoniously  driven. 
But  our  hopes  were  somewhat  qualified  by  the  intelligence 
that  we  would  be  fortunate  if  we  could  reach  Tampico  within 
a  week,  while  our  provisions  would  be  wholly  consumed  in 
three  or  four  days,  unless  we  were  put  on  short  allowance. 
The  reason  of  our  provisions  being  short,  was  owing  to  the 
commissariat  stores  at  Tampa  Bay  being  nearly  exhausted 
when  the  John  Potter  arrived.  Had  we  waited  for  a  supply 
from  New  Orleans,  we  might  have  been  detained  eight  or  ten 
days,  and  the  officer  in  command,  afraid  of  appearing  too 
cautious,  resolved  upon  taking  the  responsibility  of  proceed 
ing  with  what  we  had.  If  we  had  been  so  fortunate  as  to 
get  in  before  encountering  this  gale,  we  should  have  had 
enough,  but  it  is  extremely  injudicious,  to  say  the  least  of  it, 
to  send  troops  to  sea,  with  just  sufficient  provisions  to  last,  in 
the  event  of  a  fortunate  voyage.  In  consequence  of  the  short 
ness  of  provisions,  we  were  accordingly  supplied  with  eight 
ounces  of  biscuit  a  day,  instead  of  a  pound,  as  formerly. 
This  was  no  great  hardship,  but  as  the  wind  died  away,  and 
we  were  lying  idly  becalmed  for  two  or  three  days,  serious 
apprehensions  began  to  be  felt,  lest  we  should  soon  have 
nothing  at  all  to  eat.  Besides,  if  we  did  not  get  the  wind  in 
our  favour  soon,  the  probability  was  that  we  should  be  caught 
by  another  gUle,  as  at  that  period  of  the  year,  it  was  seldom 
that  two  or  three  weeks  elapsed  without  one  of  these  danger- 

6* 


130  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIEU    IN    MEXICO. 

ous  visitors.  In  this  latter  event  our  case  would  be  hopeless 
indeed,-  unless  we  should  have  the  good  luck  to  fall  in  with 
some  ship  who  might  give  us  some  assistance.  One  of  our 
officers  had  brought  a  dozen  hams  from  Tampa  Bay ;  these 
were  stowed  down  in  the  hold,  and  intended  as  a  valuable 
reinforcement  to  the  larder  of  the  officers'  regimental  mess  at 
Tampico.  Cut  some  of  the  men  having  discovered  the  na 
ture  of  the  contents  of  the  box  in  which  they  were  packed, 
and  acting  upon  the  axiom  that  in  cases  of  general  emer 
gency,  private  property  may  be  lawfully  seized,  and  appro 
priated  for  the  general  good,  they  contrived  to  make  a  very 
expeditious  clearance  of  these  comestibles.  However,  to  pre 
serve  appearances,  and  prevent  any  unpleasant  feelings  on  the 
subject  while  on  board,  they  had  the  box  made  up  in  weight, 
by  packing  a  sufficient  quantity  of  ballast  among  the  straw, 
in  place  of  the  hams  ;  and  having  nailed  on  the  lid,  the 
damage  was  not  discovered  until  the  box  was  opened,  after 
we  went  ashore. 

Our  short  allowance  had  continued  for  five  or  six  days, 
during  which  I  cannot  say  that  I  suffered  any  inconvenience 
from  hunger,  though,  like  the  rest  of  my  companions,  feeling 
sometimes  a  slight  degree  of  anxiety  as  to  our  future  pros 
pects  ;  but  before  being  reduced  quite  to  the  starvation  point, 
we  fortunately  met  with  assistance.  On  the  morning  of  the 
20th,  we  descried  a  steamer  to  leeward,  and  on  making  sail 
for  it,  and  hoisting  the  American  flag  half  mast,  as  a  signal 
that  we  required  assistance,  we  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  that  she  had  observed  it,  and  was  directing  her  course 
towards  us.  On  her  nearing  us  we  found  that  she  was  a  large 
propeller,  in  the  employment  of  Government,  called  the  Mas 
sachusetts.  She  was  on  her  way  to  the  Rio  Grande,  with 
dispatches  for  General  Scott,  who  was  there  at  that  time,  and 
consequently  could  not  tow  us  into  Tampico,  as  our  corn- 


A.    RUNNING     COMMENTARY.  131 

mantling  officer  requested,  but  offered  to  supply  us  with  pro 
visions.  This  offer  we  were  very  glad  to  accept,  so  coming 
alongside,  she  gave  us  twenty  barrels  of  biscuit,  and  a  few 
barrels  of  pork ;  and  her  captain  bidding  us  good  bye,  and 
wishing  us  "  better  luck  next  time,"  she  was  soon  on  lie! 
course,  and  in  a  few  hours  out  of  sight. 

Although  disappointed  in  getting  towed  into  the  river,  we 
were  now  comparatively  independent  to  what  we  had  been  a 
few  hours  previous,  having  provisions  enough  to  last  for 
several  weeks  on  board,  in  case  of  emergency  ;  and  the  wind, 
though  light,  continuing  to  blow  steadily  in  our  favour,  in  a 
few  clays  after  this  event  we  were  again  in  sight  of,  and 
rapidly  nearing  the  harbour.  When  within  about  ten  miles 
of  the  mouth  of  the  river,  the  pilot  came  on  board ;  this  time 
Le  came  in  a  six  oared  boat,  rowed  by  Mexicans.  These 
were  the  first  Mexicans  we  had  seen,  fine  tall  stout  looking 
fellows  they  were,  but  as  we  afterwards  found  considerably 
above  the  average  of  their  countrymen  in  height  and  physi 
cal  condition.  As  we  expected  to  meet  some  of  their 
countrymen  soon,  in  the  "tug  of  war,"  of  course  their 
personal  appearance  excited  considerable  interest,  and  re 
mark.  "  By  the  hokey,"  said  Mick  Ryan,  "  I  don't  see  that 
thim  Mexicans  is  the  weeny  yaller  atomies  they  do  be  telling 
us,  aftlier  all."  "  Faith  an  it.'s  no  lie  for  you,  Micky,  anyhow, 
barrin  the  ignorant  crathurs  don't  know  the  beauties  of  the 
shillelah,  they  look  like  boys  that  could  empty  a  fair  in  less 
than  no  time,  and  a  fistful  ov  minutes  to  spare  ;  but  with  the 
help  ov  the  blessed  Vargin,  we'll  soon  see  how  they  behave 
in  front  ov  their  betthers,"  responded  Paddy  Byrne.  "  By 
my  conscience,  Geordie,  they're  a  strong,  supple,  treacherous 
looking  set  of  deevils ;  od  gin  they  hae  a  trifle  of  courage, 
wi'  the  defensible  nature  o'  their  kintra,  an  their  ain  d — d 
cleemate  to  back  them,  I'm  thh  king  we  may  consider 


132     .  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

ourselves  in  a  pretty  considerable  bit  of  a  fix,  as  Jonathan 
says,"  remarked  Tom  Mathieson.  In  the  meantime,  the 
Mexicans  had  come  on  board,  and  were  jabbering  and 
laughing  to  one  another  in  their  own  language,  in  -the  most 
free  and  easy  manner  apparently,  and  making  use  of  their 
two  or  three  English  words,  while  offering  to  shake  hands 
with  any  of  our  men  who  approached.  But  none  of  our 
men  could  talk  Spanish,  and  their  English  consisted  merely 
of  a  few  of  those  epithets,  and  phrases,  "not  calculated  for 
ears  polite,"  the  universal  introduction  to  the  English  lan 
guage,  at  those  foreign  ports,  where  the  schoolmaster  abroad 
is  the  sailor  or  the  soldier.  The  pilot,  a  little  withered 
looking  old  fellow,  and  a  true  Castilliano,  as  he  repeatedly 
endeavoured  to  make  us  comprehend,  by  repeating  the  term, 
and  pointing  to  himself  at  the  same  time,  had  now  taken 
charge  of  the  vessel.  The  morning  was  delightfully  clear, 
and  we  had  a  beautiful  view  of  the  romantic  scenery  of  the 
wooded  mountain  range,  that  bounds  the  prospect  round 
the  bay  of  Tampico.  The  shore  round  the  bay  is  low 
and  sandy,  and  covered  with  groups  of  cactuses,  and  other 
thorny  shrubs ;  but  a  short  distance  inland  the  soil  is  rich, 
and  clothed  with  vegetation  of  a  more  valuable  and  pleasing 
character,  abounding  in  good  natural  grass,  and  a  variety  of 
wild  fruits  and  flowers.  About  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  25th  we  dropt  anchor  about  two  or  three  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  about  an  hour  after  a  steamer 
arrived  to  tow  us  in. 

The  entrance  to  the  river  Panuco  is  very  difficult  to  sailing 
vessels,  being  obstructed  by  a  dang-erous  sandbar  at  its 
mouth,  and  at  the  time  we  entered,  the  skeletons  of  two 
large  craft,  and  several  smaller  ones,  bedded  in  tl  e  sands  at 
the  entrance,  gave  significant  warning  to  the  careless  naviga 
tor.  It  is  only  at  particular  favourable  conjunctions  of  wind 


RIVER    SCENERY.  133 

and  tide,  that  a  pilot  will  risk  bringing  a  sailing  vessel  over, 
but  the  necessity  of  waiting  for  a  fair  -wand  was  at  the  present  • 
time  obviated  in  the  case  of  American  vessels,  by  the 
government  having  stationed  steam-tugs  there,  to  take 
vessels  over  the  bar,  and  up  and  down  the  river.  We  wero 
towed  over  the  bar  by  the  steam-tug,  without  any  difficulty, 
but  the  tide  not  answering  to  go  up  to  the  town  of  Tampico, 
which  is  about  ten  or  twelve  miles  up  the  river,  we  again  let 
go  our  anchor.  Our  vessel  was  now  immediately  surrounded 
by  a  whole  fleet  of  canoes,  with  fruits  and  vegetables  for 
sale,  which  they  sold  exceedingly  cheap  ;  and  finding  plenty 
of  eager  purchasers  among  our  men,  their  stock  of  oranges, 
pine-apples,  plantains,  bananas,  etc.,  was  speedily  disposed 
of.  Towards  evening,  the  tide  serving,  the  steam-tug  arrived 
to  take  us  up  to  Tampico.  As  we  sailed  up  the  river,  which 
here  seems  a  sort  of  miniature  Mississippi,  being  a  dull, 
broad,  coffee-coloured  stream  with  a  strong  current,  its 
banks  clothed  with  luxuriant  vegetation,  and  its  muddy  line 
of  water-mark  covered  with  a  debris  of  the  trunks  of  trees, 
of  the  genus  snag,  the  interesting  features  of  the  landscape 
were  gazed  at  with  intense  curiosity.  The  palmetto-thatched 
hut,  the  tall  cocoa-nut  tree,  with  its  slender  and  graceful 
trunk,  and  its  huge  fan-like  leaves,  relieved  so  distinctly  by 
the  deep  azure  of  the  blue  sky  ;  the  tropical  looking  banana 
with  its  immense  bunches  of  delicious  fruit ;  the  orange  trees 
with  their  fruits  of  golden  hue,  gleaming  so  temptingly 
through  the  deep  dark  green  of  their  thick  foliage ;  all  these 
in  turn  elicited  our  admiration  and  excited  our  curiosity. 
The  left  bank  of  the  river  especially  attracted  our  attention  : 
the  mountains  which  there  ascend  gradually  from  within  a 
short  distance  of  the  river  are  very  lofty,  and  covered  to 
their  summits  with  trees,  and  evergreen  vegetation  of  every 
varied  and  contrasting  shade  and  hue ;  and  each  new  turn 


134  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

of  the  serpentining  river  presented  some  fresh  combination, 
from  the  changed  point  of  view  ;  producing  the  most  delight 
ful  panoramic  variation  of  scenery  imaginable. 

This  town  of  Tampico  has  a  very  pleasing  and  lively 
appearance  viewed  from  the  river,  the  houses  and  stores 
facing  which  are  painted  red  or  white ;  nearly  all  have 
porticos  in  front,  supporting  balconies  or  verandas,  and  the 
open  space  between  them  and  the  river  is  wide  and  well 
paved.  Sloping  up  from  the  wharf  is  the  market  place, 
which,  like  all  Mexican  markets,  presents  a  very  busy  and 
animated  picture ;  game,  fish,  fruit,  and  vegetables  were  the 
principal  commodities  in  the  market  on  the  next  morning 
after  our  arrival,  and  these  were  all  remarkably  cheap,  a 
brace  of  wild  ducks  being  sold  for  a  real  (about  sixpence),  and 
other  articles  in  proportion.  The  town  is  principally  built 
on  a  hill  which  has  a  gradual  ascent  for  about  half  a  mile 
along  the  right  bank  of  the  river  ;  the  highest  part  of  it  is 
near  the  house  of  the  British  Consul.  A  little  way  above, 
the  hill  ends  in  a  precipitous  bluff,  from  which  there  is  an 
excellent  view  of  the  river  and  surrounding  country.  We 
had  no  sooner  dropped  anchor  in  the  stream,  than  we  were 
boarded  by  several  boatloads  of  men  belonging  to  those 
companies  of  our  regiment  from  whom  we  had  been  sepa 
rated  on  leaving  Pensacola.  They  congratulated  us  warmly 
on  our  safe  arrival,  the  current  report  having  been  for  some 
days  previous,  that  the  John  Potter  had  been  wrecked,  and 
all  hands  lost.  They  told  us  they  had  been  lying  in  camp 
in  the  suburbs  of  the  town  for  the  last  month ;  that  about  a 
third  of  them  had  the  fever  and  ague ;  that  there  were  five 
or  six  thousand  troops  in  the  town,  and  in  a  few  days  as 
many  more  were  expected  :  that  tobacco  was  sold  for  a 
dollar  a  pound,  and  a  poisonous  description  of  liquor,  under 
the  denomination  of  brandy,  for  a  shilling  a  glass ;  and  a  few 


ARRIVAL    AT    CAMP.  135 

more  items  of  that  sort,  comprising  the  current  gossip  of  the 
camp. 

It  was  near  sunset  when  we  dropped  anchor,  so  we  had  to 
content  ourselves  for  another  night  on  board  ;  but  boats  came 
alongside  bringing  their  welcome  supplies  of  fresh  bread, 
cheese,  fruits,  and  other  tempting  luxuries ;  and  there  were 
few  on  board  the  John  Potter  who  did  not  indulge  in  at 

G> 

least  one  ample  meal  as  a  counterpoise  to  the  hard  and 
unpalatable  fare,  and  forced  abstemiousness  of  the  voyage. 
Early  next  morning  a  steamer  came  alongside  and  took  our 
baggage,  which  was  landed  in  a  very  expeditious  manner, 
and  placed  in  the  commissary  waggons  waiting  on  the  wharf 
for  its  reception ;  after  which  we  were  all  landed  by  the 
steamer.  Having  left  a  small  guard  to  escort  the  baggage, 
we  were  formed  into  companies,  and  preceded  by  the  lively 
notes  of  the  ear-piercing  fife,  and  the  beat  of  martial  drum, 
we  marched  through  the  principal  streets  of  Tampico  to  the 
camp,  which  lay  nearly  a  mile  down  the  river. 

On  arriving  at  the  camp,  after  piling  arms,  and  taking  off 
our  knapsacks,  we  were  shown,  by  the  adjutant  of  the  regi 
ment,  the  ground  our  companies  were  to  occupy,  and  imme 
diately  proceeded  to  pitch  our  tents.  This  was  soon  done, 
and  then  wre  commenced  cleaning  our  arms  and  accoutre 
ments.  The  other  companies  stationed  here  before  us  had 
all  their  things  in  the  most  perfect  order ;  and  as  there  were 
parades  and  inspections  every  morning,  our  lieutenant  hoped 
we  would  try  to  uphold  the  credit  of  company  I.  All  our 
clothes  also  required  to  be  washed  after  our  voyage,  but  as 
there  \^  ere  plenty  of  poor  Mexican  women  coming  to  our  camp 
and  asking  for  clothes  to  wash,  which  they  did  very  well, 
and  cheap,  Xutt  and  I  got  one  of  them  to  wash  for  us  while 
we  stayed  there,  thus  saving  a  great  deal  of  very  disagree 
able  labour  at  a  trifling  expense.  For  the  purpose  of  allow- 


136  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

ing  us  to  rest  a  little  after  the  hardships  of  our  voyage,  and 
also  to  give  us  an  opportunity  to  clean  our  accoutrements  and 
clothes,  the  commanding  officer  excused  us  from  going  to 
parade  for  two  days  after  our  Arrival,  during  which  time  we 
contrived  to  get  all  our  things  into  good  condition. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Town  and  its  Population — Reinforcements — General  Shields- 
Bill  Nutt  as  Orderly — Expedition  to  Vera  Cruz. 

I  SAID  the  town  of  Tampico  had  a  pleasing  appearance  when 
viewed  from  the  river,  but  a  closer  inspection  dissipates  the 
favourable  impression  made  by  its  first  appearance.  The 
streets  nearest  the  river  are  composed  of  good  substantial 
stone  buildings,  inhabited  by  the  wealthiest  part  of  the 
population  ;  but  in  the  suburbs,  and  a  number  of  the  back 
streets,  are  rows  of  the  most  wretched-looking  habitations, 
containing  the  most  squalid  population  which  the  imagina 
tion  can  conceive.  1  had  seen  misery  in  Ireland  which  I 
thought  unsurpassable,  but  some  of  the  poor  wretches  in  the 
suburbs  of  Tampico,  presented  a  squalor  of  appearance  more 
abjectly  miserable  than  anything  I  had  seen  even  there. 
The  huts  of  the  poor  are  built  either  of  mud,  or  bamboos, 
stuck  as  close  together  as  possible,  and  placed  upright  in 
the  ground ;  they  are  covered  with  palmetto  leaves,  which 
are  also  interwoven  with  the  bamboos  to  exclude  the  cold 
wind  of  the  north  gales  which  blow  during  the  winter.  The 
interior  of  these  huts  presents  as  forlorn  and  wretched  an 
aspect  as  the  exterior ;  they  are  mostly  destitute  of  furniture, 
save  a  few  earthen  pipkins  used  as  cooking  utensils,  and  a 
mat  of  grass  or  rushes,  used  as  a  bed.  The  only  bed  the 
bulk  of  the  labouring  population  of  Mexico  ever  think  of 
sleeping  upon,  is  a  mat  spread  down  on  the  floor,  on  which 
they  sleep  without  ever  taking  off  their  clothes — a  practice 


138  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

wlncli  is  quite  sufficient  to  account  for  the  charges  of  dirt 
and  vermin  brought  by  most  travellers  against  the  Mexicans ; 
charges  of  the  truth  of  which,  while  I  was  in  Mexico,  1  had 
frequently  too  abundant  proof. 

The  gentry  and  respectable  portion  of  the  inhabitants  kept 
very  retired  while  we  lay  in  the  vicinity,  many  of  them  shut 
ting  themseh  es  up  in  their  houses,  as  if  in  a  state  of  siege. 
Indeed  it  was  no  great  wonder  though  they  should  be  a  lit 
tle  shy  of  the  strange,  wild-looking,  hairy-faced  savages  of  the 
half  horse  and  half  alligator  breed,  who  galloped  about  the 
streets  and  plazas  mounted  on  mules  and  Mexican  ponies, 
and  armed  with  sabres,  bowies,  and  revolvers,  and  in  every 
uncouth  variety  of  costume  peculiar  to  the  American  back 
woodsman.  The  senors  or  caballeros,  masters  or  gentlemen, 
the  Mexicans  called  them  when  addressing  them,  but  when 
speaking  of  them  in  their  absence,  it  was  "  Malditos  Volun- 
teros,"  which  they  enunciated  with  a  bitterness  of  tone,  that 
showed  the  intensity  of  their  dislike.  In  fact  I  believe  they 
had  no  great  love  for  any  portion  of  the  "  hereticos  America 
nos,"  though  the  volunteers  seemed  to  be  objects  of  their 
special  detestation  ;  and  I  imagine  they  looked  upon  us  all 
with  similar  complacency,  to  that  which  the  Spaniards  looked 
upon  the  army  of  France,  during  its  usurpation  of  the  Pe 
ninsula. 

About  a  week  after  our  arrival,  a  strong  reinforcement 
arrived  from  General  Taylor's  army  at  Monterey.  These 
were  principally  volunteers,  and  one  regiment  called  the  Ten 
nessee  cavalry,  were  a  fine  looking  set  of  stout  fellows,  well 
clothed,  armed,  and  mounted,  at  least  for  volunteers  ;  and 
they  were  said  to  have  behaved  very  well  in  action.  But 
they  had  only  been  raised  for  one  year.  A  few  months  after 
ward,  when  their  time  expired,  great  exertions  were  used  to 
induce  them  to  remain,  but  with  no  effect ;  the  poor  fellows 


ARMY    FOLLOWERS.  139 

had  "  seen  the  elephant,5'  and  were  perfectly  satisfied  with 
the  exhibition.  A  considerable  number  of  regular  troops, 
both  infantry  and  artillery,  were  also  withdrawn  at  this  time 
frum  General  Taylor's  army  for  the  Vera  Cruz  expedition, 
weakening  his  force  exceedingly.  This,  it  was  thought,  had 
suggested  the  idea  to  Santa  Anna  of  overwhelming  him  by 
superior  numbers,  and  taking  him  and  his  whole  army  pri 
soners,  which  resulted  in  the  battle  of  Buenavista  ;  where  the 
Mexicans,  in  a  fair  field,  and  with  a  numerical  force  of  at  least 
four  to  one,  were  so  shamefully  defeated. 

The  town  of  Tampico  had  a  bustling  and  animated  ap 
pearance  while  the  troops  remained  in  the  vicinity,  a  band 
of  music  furnished  by  each  regiment  in  succession  playing 
in  the  main  plaza  for  a  few  hours  each  evening  ;  and  the 
streets  and  houses  of  entertainment  being  thronged  with 
oiS'cers  and  soldiers.  The  troops  received  two  months'  pay 
while  we  lay  here,  being  paid  up  to  the  1st  January  ;  there 
was  consequently  a  good  deal  of  money  amongst  the  men 
for  a  few  days.  The  larger  portion  of  this  soon  found  its 
way  into  the  hands  of  the  army  followers,  a  sort  of  human 
vultures  who  followed  the  army  all  through  the  campaign, 
keeping  hotels,  called  by  the  popular  cognomens  of  "  The 
Palo  Alto  House,"  "  The  Rough  and  Ready  Restaurant," 
"  American  Star  Hotel,"  &c.  ;  the  whole  stock  in  trade  of 
said  restaurants  and  hotels  mostly  consisting  of  a  piece  of 
villanously  tough  roasted  or  fried  carne  (beef),  and  a  few 
dollars'  worth  of  an  abominable  spirituous  liquor  called 
aguardiente.  The  Mexican  shop-keepers  were  prohibited 
from  selling  spirits  to  the  soldiers  under  the  pain  of  a  heavy 
penalty,  but  these  camp  followers  were  winked  at  by  some 
means  or  other,  and  the  scoundrels  had  a  complete  monopoly 
of  the  sale  of  liquor,  and  were  permitted  to  poison  and 
plunder  the  soldiers  with  impunity.  In  most  of  these  houses 


140  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLEiER    IN    MEXICO. 

gambling  was  incorporated  .  with  the  business  of  selling 
liquor,  two  or  three  professional  gamblers  being  usually  lh« 
joint  proprietors  of  these  low  concerns,  where  (lie  most 
brutal  riots,  frequently  resulting  in  loss  of  life,  were  «,.f 
frequent  recurrence.  It  would  have  considerably  improved 
the  morale  of  the  army  if  these  shops  had  been  prohibited, 
and  all  citizens  not  in  the  employment  of  government  packed 
off  to  the  States. 

A  company  of  theatrical  performers,  who  had  been  with 
General  Taylor's  army  in  Monterey  and  Matamoras,  came 
down  with  the  division  of  troops  which  had  just  arrived, 
and  were  performing  to  good  houses  in  town,  the  officers  and 
soldiers  crowding  the  theatre  every  night  to  overflowing.  A 
newspaper,  called  the  American  Star,  was  also  published 
once  a  week,  and  sold  at  six  cents.  As  it  was  only  pur 
chased  by  the  army,  of  course  its  circulation  must  have  been 
rather  limited  ;  but  it  usually  contained  a  good  many  items 
of  army  intelligence,  and  a  considerable  number  were 
bought  to  send  home  to  friends  in  the  States,  both  by  officers 
and  soldiers. 

For  some  time  after  our  arrival  at  Tampico,  our  regiment 
furnished  an  orderly  to  General. Shields,  who  Was  selected 
by  the  adjutant,  at  guard  mounting,  from  the  men  paraded 
for  that  duty.  One  day  my  comrade  Bill  Juitt  having  been 
selected  for  the  office,  a  rather  amusing  occurrence  happened 
to  him.  It  appeared  that  Nutt,  who  had  never  seen  the 
general,  had  taken  him  for  a  servant,  as  he  had  opened  the 
door  for  him,  and  also  from  his  wearing  plain  clothes, 
and  his  free  and  unassuming  manners.  The  morning  was 
cold,  and  he  had  asked  Nutt  to  sit  clown  at  the  fireside, 
sitting  down  him&elf  on  the  opposite  side,  and  entering  into 
conversation  writh  him.  -  Nutt,  who  laboured  under  a  false 
impression  with  regard  to  the  identity  of  the  person  he  wa? 


ACTIVE    OPERATIONS    AT    HAND.  141 

ft,  Iressing,  had  spoken  his  sentiments  very  freely  on  some 
ot  the  topics  connected  with  the  present  war,  condemning 
the  aggressive  sort  of  policy  that  seemed  to  actuate  the 
democratic  party  of  America.  In  the  midst  of  a  discussion 
on  the  question  at  issue,  an  officer  in  uniform  entered 
from  an  adjacent  apartment,  and  bowing  to  Nutt's  opponent, 
who  was  calmly  listening  at  the  time  to  his  views  of  the  sub 
ject,  addressed  him  by  the  title  of  general.  Nutt,  who  felt 
quite  shocked  at  the  discovery,  made  a  hasty  and  unceremo 
nious  retreat  into  the  ante-room,  and  though  the  general 
resumed  the  subject  after  the  departure  of  his  guest,  he  con 
fessed  that  the  general  soon  had  the  best  of  the  argument,  as 
he  could  not  speak  with  the  same  freedom  as  before.  Nutt 
often  alluded  afterwards  to  the  urbanity  arid  gentlemanlike 
manners  of  General  Shields,  allowing  that  a  few  gentlemen 
might  be  found  among  the  citizens  of  the  enlightened  republic, 
and  quoting  him  as  one  example,  at  least,  that  he  had  met 
with  in  his  travels. 

Our  troops,  a  large  proportion  of  whom  were  raw  recruits, 
were  kept  closely  at  drill  while  we  lay  in  camp  at  Tampico, 
und  by  the  end  of  February  they  were  considered  in  good 
order  for  active  operations.  General  Scott's  arrival  about 
the  20th  was  a  signal  to  be  ready  for  a  move,  and  in  a  day 
or  two  after,  the  army  received  orders  to  embark ;  the  first 
of  the  troops  going  on  board  on  the  24th. 

Several  days  were  occupied  in  getting  all  the  men  and 
horses  on  board,  but  on  the  27th  of  February  all  were  ready 
to  sail.  The  regiment  to  which  I  belonged,  being  in  the  last 
division,  had  no  delay  ;  and  getting  into  a  steamer  at  the 
\vharf  at  Tampico,  we  were  taken  down  the  river  and  put  on 
board  the  barque  Caroline,  with  all  our  -baggage,  in  a 
f«.:\v  hours.  We  were  no  sooner  on  board  than  we  began  to 
wt'i^h  aiyjhor,  -ind  in  a  very  short  time  all  oui  transports 


142  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

had  spread  their  canvas  to  the  breeze.  Our  fleet,  compris 
ing  nearly  a  hundred  sailing  vessels,  fifty  or  sixty  of  which 
were  large  snips  and  the  remainder  brigs  and  "schooners, 
presented  a  very  imposing  appearance  during  the  afternoon. 
The  change  of  position  perpetually  occurring  in  the  different 
vessels,  caused  by  the  difference  in  their  rates  of  sailing, 
created  excitement  among  the  men,  and  added  variety  and 
animation  to  the  scene.  The  number  of  large  ships  filled 
with  troops,  stores,  and  ammunition,  and  the  strength  of  our 
whole  armament,  as  compared  with  anything  which  Mexico 
could  furnish,  inspired  our  men  with  the  certainty  of  success 
in  the  reduction  of  Vera  Cruz.  As  to  the  cost  of  life 
involved  in  the  undertaking,  that  was  left  to  the  chapter  of 
accidents ;  in  reckoning  the  probable  contingencies  of  a 
coming  engagement,  the  soldier  seldom  includes  himself  in 
the  list  of  the  killed  and  wounded.  Our  destination  for  the 
time  was  the  island  of  Lobos,  that  being  the  place  appointed 
for  the  whole  vessels  belonging  to  the  expedition  to  rendez 
vous,  preparatory  to  sailing  for  the  harbour  of  Vera  Cruz. 
We  had  a  smart  gale  of  wind  during  the  night,  and  next 
morning  we  could  only  discern  two  or  three  vessels  in 
the  horizon  out  of  the  large  fleet  which  had  sailed  with 
us  on  the  previous  day.  We  arrived  at  Lobos  about  fivt 
o'clock  of  the  same  evening,  and  came  to  anchor;  having 
beaten  every  vessel  of  the  expedition.  The  others  continued 
to  drop  in  by  twos  and  threes  until  the  middle  of  the  day, 
by  which  time  they  had  all  come  to  anchor. 

Lobos  is  a  small  sand)  island  not  far  from  the  coast,  be 
tween  Tampico  and  Vera  Cruz.  It  is  not  seen  until  the  voya 
ger  is  close  upon  it,  as  it  is  very  little  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  While  we  lay  there,  as  there  was  a  slight  gale  of  wind, 
the  sea  broke  in  a  heavy  surf  on  the  barren  and  desolate  spot, 
on  which  the  only  signs  of  vegetation  were  ,a  few  stunted 


THE  SUMMONS  AND  THE  ANSWER.          143 

sliMib;-,  evidently  struggling  hard  with  the  difficulties  of  their 
situation  for  a  bare  subsistence.  Three  or  four  vessels  from 
Xcw  Orleans  were  lying  here  on  our  arrival ;  they  formed 
part  of  the  expedition,  and  were  waiting  for  us ;  a  few  of 
their  passengers  had  gone  ashore  and  pitched  tents,  pre 
ferring  to  sleep  on  the  solid  sand  to  the  pitching  of  the 
vessel.  All  our  fleet  having  arrived,  on  the  morning  of 
the  1st  .March  we  again  set  sail  for  Vera  Cruz,  which  we 
reached  on  the  evening  of  the  2nd,  and  came  to  anchor  about 
eight  miles  from  the  castle  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa,  the  name 
of  the  fortification  at  Vera  Cruz,  about  four  miles  from  Sacri- 
ficios,  a  small  island  near  the  castle,  where  "  men-of-war " 
anchor. 

On  the  morning  of  the  third,  General  Scott  summoned  the 
city  and  castle  of  Vera  Cruz  to  surrender ;  and  after  a  delay 
of  several  days,  consumed  in  discussion  by  the  military  go 
vernor  and  the  civil  authorities,  the  latter  of  whom  were  in 
favour  of  a  surrender,  a  definitive  answer  was  returned  to  Gene 
ral  Scott  that  he  mio-ht  come  and  take  them  if  he  could. 

O  / 

San  Juan  is  a  very  strong  fortification  built  upon  a  small 
island  in  the  bay,  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  the 
pier  at  Vera  Cruz.  It  had  a  garrison  of  between  five  and 
six  thousand  men,  was  well  supplied  with  ammunition,  and 
bristling  with  cannon,  of  which  it  had  about  a  hundred,  some 
of  them  of  very  heavy  calibre.  The  buildings  in  the  castle 
are  all  bombproof,  and  with  the  sea  wall,  are  built  of  a  soft 
species  of  coral,  in  which  cannon  balls  are  imbedded  without 
producing  the  usual  shattering  and  crumbling  effect  of  these 
missiles  on  stone  of  a  harder  quality,  and  which  is  necessary 
to  cause  a  breach.  It  was  generally  considered  impregnable, 
and  could  only  be  approached  by  vessels  on  one  side,  a  coral 
reef  stretching  round  it  on  every  side  except  the  one  facing 
the  town.  The  city  of  Vera  Cruz  is  surrounded  with  a  wall 


144  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

about  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  high,  but  \vliich  could  be  easily 
breached,  and  there  are  a  number  of  half  moon  batteries 
round  it  well  manned  with  guns  ;  it  is  about  three  miles  in 
circumference. 

Having  received  the  answer  of  the  governor  refusing  to 
surrender,  on  the  evening  of  the  7th  General  Scott  issued  an 
order  for  the  troops  to  prepare  for  landing  next  morning. 
Commanding  officers  were  directed  to  see  their  men  furnished 
with  two  days'  provisions  in  their  havresacks,  and  that  they 
had  their  canteens  slung,  and  filled  with  water.  Each  man 
was  also  to  take  either  his  great-coat  or  his  blanket  with 
him,  leaving  the  remainder  of  his  clothes  and  necessaries, 
packed  in  his  knapsack,  on  board.  On  the  morning  of  the 
8th,  however,  a  stiff  breeze  having  commenced  to  blow,  the 
surf  was  too  heavy  for  landing,  and  the  order  was  'counter 
manded.  On  the  evening  of  the  8th  the  order  of  the  pre 
vious  evening  was  re-issued  for  the  next  morning,  which 
having  turned  out  fine,  shortly  after  sunrise  we  began  to  get 
into  the  boats. 


CHAPTER  XH. 

Sacrificios — The  debarkation — A  bivouac — A  night  alarm. 

THE  surf-boats  used  for  our  disembarkation,  had  been  ex 
pressly  made  for  the  purpose,  for  which  they  were  admirably 
adapted,  being  strong,  light,  and  roomy,  and  carrying  about 
a  hundred  men  with  ease.  The  whole  of  the  troops  had  been 
told  off  into  three  divisions,  which  had  to  be  transferred  from 
the  vessels  they  were  in,  to  those  denominated  in  the  order. 
When  all  were  ready,  at  a  signal  from  the  vessel  in  which 
General  Scott  was,  we  were  to  get  under  weigh  for  Sacrificios, 
where  we  were  to  drop  anchor  and  disembark  at  a  'distance 
of  four  miles  from  the  city  of  Vera  Cruz.  The  regiment  to 
which  I  belonged  was  transferred  to  the  deck  of  the  Porpoise 
man-of-war  brig.  Between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock,  A.M.,  the 
troops  having  been  all  arranged  on  the  vessels,  on  board  of 
which  they  had  been  ordered  to  proceed,  we  got  under 
weigh ;  but  as  the  breeze  was  against  us  we  had  to  beat  up, 
and  a  number  of  the  vessels  were  towed  up  by  steamers.  It 
was  nearly  four  o'clock  before  we  had  all  dropped  anchor  at 
Sacrificios. 

Of  vessels  of  foreign  nations  lying  at  anchor  at  Sacrificios, 
there  were  an  English  man-of-war  brig,  a  French  ditto,  and 
a  Spanish  sloop  of  war.  The  officers  of  these  vessels  were 
all  on  the  poop,  or  quarter-deck,  and  their  crews  on  the 
rigging,  all  apparently  eyeing  our  proceedings  •  with  much 
curiosity,  as  we  came  up  and  successively  dropped  anchor, 
our  nearest  vessels  about  a  cable's  length  astern  of  them, 


146  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

The  order  of  landing  was  to  be  as  follows :  General  Worth 
was  to  land  first  with  his  division  ;  General  Twiggs  was  to 
land  with  the  second  division  as  soon  as  the  boats  returned 
from  landing  all  of  the  first ;  General  Seott  with  the  third 
division  was  not  to  land  until  the  following  morning.  As  our 
regiment  belonged  to  the  second  division,  we  had  an  ex 
cellent  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  landing  of  the  first 
party — an  interesting  spectacle,  as  we  fully  expected  they 
would  receive  a  warm  reception  from  the  Mexicans,  who  we 
imagined  were  stationed  behind  the  sand-hills.  A  little 
above  high-water  mark,  on  the  coast,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Vera  Cruz,  there  is  a  series  of  sand-hills,  formed  by  the 
drifting  of  the  fine  sand  by  the  violent  north  gales  that  blow 
during  the  winter  months.  These  sand-hills  are  thirty  Or 
forty  feet  to  a  hundred  feet  in  height,  the  highest  being  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  city.  It  was  on  the  highest  of  these  that 
our  batteries  were  erected  for  its  bombardment.  Immedi 
ately  opposite  where  we  were  to  land,  they  formed  a  sloping 
acclivity,  varying  from  thirty  to  fifty  feet  in  height,  covered 
with  short  scrubby  brushwood,  and  the  prickly  pear  cactus. 
While  the  troops  were  getting  into  tl>e  landing-boats,  an 
operation  which,  though  using  all  possible  despatch,  occupied 
about  half  an  hour,  the  gun-boats  sailed  as  close  as  they 
could  to  the  shore,  throwing  an  occasional  shell  into  the 
brushwood,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  if  the  Mexicans 
had  any  masked  batteries  erected,  as  we  supposed.  There 
being  no  indication  of  any  enemy  in  the  vicinity,  and  the 
boats  being  now  filled,  everything  was  ready  for  landing  the 
first  party. 

I  cannot  say  that  I  felt  in  the  slightest  degree  inclined  to 
earn  high  fame  or  distinction,  by  any  very  decided  demon 
stration  or  extraordinary  exhibition  of  personal  prowess  and 
heroic  valour  on  the  present  occasion ;  neither  did  I  overhear 


A    MAGNIFICENT    SPECTACLE.  147 

any  very  strong  expressions  of  regret  amongst  my  comrades, 
at  the  circumstance  of  our  regiment  not  being  the  first  party 
who  were  landing.  In  a  short  conversation  which  the  sur 
geon  held  with  the  hospital  attendant  a  few  minutes  before, 
we  could  overhear  him  ask  if  the  lint  and  bandages,  and 
his  case  of  instruments  were  close  at  hand  and  immediately 
under  his  eye.  An  inquiry,  just  at  that  particular  juncture, 
horribly  suggestive  of  thick-coming  fancies,  and  exceedingly 
well  calculated  to  cool  down  any  dangerous  excess  of  enthu 
siasm  and  martial  ardour  entertained  by  those  who  over 
heard  it.  Still,  when  the  boats, 'which  contained  fully  two 
thousand  men,  were  drawn  up  in  line  and  ready  to  start,  so 
strong  was  the  feeling  of  contagious  sympathy  elicited  and 
communicated  by  the  sight,  surrounded  as  it  was  by  all  the 
glorious  pomp  and  circumstance  of  wrar,  that  I  believe  there 
were  few  of  the  arrny  who  did  not  envy  their  position,  or 
would  not  gladly  have  incurred  the  hazard  of  the  enterprise, 
for  the  shadow  of  glory  which  the  distinction  conferred. 
The  scene  was  certainly  exciting  and  imposing :  the  military 
bands  of  different  regiments  stationed  on  the  decks  of  the 
steamers,  transports,  and  men-of-war,  played  the  national 
airs  of  "  Yankee  Doodle,"  "  Hail  Columbia,"  and  the  "  Star 
Spangled  Banner."  Ten  thousand  of  our  own  troops  were 
anxious  and  eager  spectators,  and  the  English,  French,  and 
Spanish  fleets,  had  each  their  representative,  scanning  our 
operations  with  critical  eye,  and  all  looking  with  curiosity 
to  see  the  issue  of  the  exploit. 

At  a  signal  from  the  vessel  having  General  Scott  on  board, 
the  boats .  simultaneously  gave  way  for  shore,  leaving  a  con 
siderable  space  vacant  in  front  of  our  men-of-war,  who  were 
anchored  next  the  shore,  and  had  their  guns  double  shotted, 
ready  to  open  upon  the  enemy,  should  they  make  their 
appearance.  The  gun-boats,  meanwhile,  continued  to  tack 


148  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

backwards  and  forwards,  almost  close  to  the  shore,  for  the 
same  purpose.  Under  the  circumstances,  it  was  plain  that 
the.  Mexicans  could  not  prevent  us  from  landing,  but,  by 
waiting  until  the  first  party  were  fairly  on  the  sands,  they 
might  assault  them  with  a  very  superior  for.ce,  when  our 
gun-boats  and  men-of-war  would  be  prevented  from  firing, 
by  the  fear  of  injuring  our  own  men.  This  was  the  event 
we  almost  expected  to  witness,  and,  as  the  boats  neared  the 
shore,  all  straining  their  energies  for  the  honour  of  being  the 
first  to  land,  we  watched  the  result  with  intense  anxiety, 
expecting  each  moment  to  see  a  body  of  Mexican  cavalry 
charge  over  the  sand-hills.  But  no  such  event  occurred ;  on 
coming  to  within  about  a  hundred  yards  of  the  shore,  the 
boats  grounded  on  a  small  sandbar.  The  men  and  officers 
immediately  leaped  into  the  water,  the  former  carrying  their 
muskets  on  their  shoulders,  and  holding  their  cartridge  boxes 
well  up,  as  the  Avater  reached  to  their  hips  while  wading 
ashore.  As  the  boats  successively  arrived,  the  men  were 
formed  on  the  beach  ;  the  boats  making  all  expedition  back 
to  the  vessels  for  more  men.  All  of  the  first  party  having 
formed  into  line,  several  regimental  colours  were  displayed, 
and  a  charge  made  to  the  heights  in  front,  but  not  a  single 
Mexican  wras  to  be  seen.  The  American  flag  was  immedi 
ately  planted  amidst  loud  and  prolonged  cheers,  which  were 
enthusiastically  echoed  by  the  troops  on  board.  All  idea  of 
there  being  any  fighting  for  that  day,  at  least,  was  now  at 
in  end,  piquets  were  thrown  out,  and  sentries  posted  on  the 
most  advantageous  points  of  the  heights  to  guard  against  a 
surprise ;  the  men  began  to  make  themselves  at  home ;  we 
could  observe  fires  were  kindled,  and  camp  kettles  swinging 
on  them,  in  less  than  an  hour  after  they  had  landed,  and 
before  evening  the  beach  had  all  the  appearance  of  a 
camp; 


ILL-TIMED    TEETOTALISM.  149 

The  captain  of  the  Porpoise  brig,  -who  seemed  a  jovial  and 
good-hearted  fellow,  proposing  to  act  hospitably  to  the  sol 
diers  whom  he  had  on  board,  ordered  the  steward  to  furnish 
an  allowance  of  grog  to  each,  the  same  as  the  sailors  were 
in  the  habit  of  receiving;  but  our  officers  put  a  stop  to  the 
exercise  of  his  generosity,  for  which  extreme  shabbiness  they 
had  the  contempt  of  the  captain,  and  the  discontented  mur 
murs  of  their  own  men.  Their  conduct,  on  this  occasion, 
was  the  more  freely  commented  on  and  censured,  as  it  was 
well  known  that  they  had  all  partaken  of  the  captain's  hospi 
tality,  without  stint,  themselves,  and  it  was  utterly  absurd 
to  imagine  that  a  single  allowance  of  grog  could  injure  any 
person,  however  unused  to  spirits.  We  had  been  standing 
on  deck  all  day  in  the  hot  sun,  with  our  muskets  in  our  hands, 
for  there  was  neither  an  awning  nor  room  to  sit  down  any 
where,  on  account  of  the  crowded  state  of  the  deck.  It  would 
probably  be  nine  or  ten  o'clock  that  night  before  we  got  ashore, 
when  we  should  have  to  lie  down  and  sleep  on  the  beach 
without  taking  off  our  accoutrements,  which  we  should  have 
to  wear  for  days,  perhaps  for  weeks  to  come.  But  all  these 
disagreeables,  as  they  were  the  natural  and  unavoidable  con 
sequence  of  our  position,  were  as  dust  in  the  balance,  com 
pared  with  the  reflection,  that  our  officers  grudged  us  the 
slight  degree  of  sympathetic  consolation,  implied  in  the  good- 
natured  captain's  offer  of  a  glass  of  grog.  "The  dirty 
miserly  nagurs,"  audibly  grumbled  Micky  Ryan,  "  faith, 
an'  six  allowances  some  of  the  customers  have  in  their  own 
insides ;  may  the  Lord  look  down  on  us,  for  we've  happened 
badly  on  them  for  gintlemin ;  shure  there's  not  one  of  the 
miserly  crathurs  has  a  heart  as  big  as  a  grasshopper's." 

About  ten  o'clock  at  night  the  boats  came  alongside  to 
take  our  regiment  ashore,  being  the  last  of  the  second  divi 
sion.  Two  or  three  lanthorns  were  held  over  the  ship's  side, 


150  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

and,  the  water  being  smooth,  we  were  soon  all  in.  "We 
were  then  rowed  ashore  till,  the  boat  striking  the  sand,  we 
had  to  jump  in  and  wade  up  to  the  middle  for  about  a  hun 
dred  yards,  as  the  others  had  done.  This  was  a  bad  pre 
paration  for  going  to  sleep  on  the  beach,  but,  except  when 
there  is  a  north  gale  blowing,  which  was  not  the  case  that 
night,  the  night  air  is  warm  on  the  beach  of  Vera  Cruz,  and 
we  suffered  little  inconvenience  from  our  wetting.  AVe  were 
met  by  an  officer  on  shore,  who  said  he  would  show  us  the 
position  our  regiment  was  to  occupy  ;  and,  after  being  formed 
into  companies,  we  were  marched  along  the  beach  through 
a  number  of  rows  of  small  oblong  heaps,  which,  in  the  dim 
starlight,  the  sky  being  partially  obscured  by  the  drifting 
clouds,  bore  a  striking,  and  I  could  scarce  help  fancying, 
ominous  resemblance  to  an  extensive  and  over-populous 
graveyard.  At  length  we  arrived  at  a  vacant  spot  in  the 
line  which  had  been  reserved  for  our  occupation,  and,  having 
been  directed  to  pile  arms,  we  were  told  we  might  lie  down 
when  we  pleased,  but  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  our  arms, 
which  each  man  was  to  be  ready  to  grasp  at  a  moment's 
notice.  This  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  seen  a  bivouac, 
and,  certainly,  it  seemed  a"  very  primitive  and  cool  way  of 
lodging ;  as  my  comrade  Nutt  remarked,  it  did  look  rather 
like  taking  actual  possession  of  the  soil.  After  enjoying  a 
comfortable  smoke,  we  prepared  for  taking  a  warrior's  rest,  by 
wrapping  our  martial  cloaks  around  us,  or  pulling  the  capes 
of  our  great-coats  over  our  heads,  to  exclude  the  sand  and 
night  air ;  we  tumbled  over  on  the  beach,  and  were  soon 
several  fathoms  deep  in  the  land  of  dreams. 

But  the  Mexicans  were  not  disposed  to  allow  us  the  un 
disturbed  possession  of  our  first  night's  quarters,  indifferent 
though  they  were,  without  giving  an  intimation,  at  least,  of 
their  sentiments  towards  us.  It  was  between  twelve  and 


A    NIGHT    ALARM.  151 

one  o'clock,  and  only  about  an  hour  after  we  had  fallen 
asleep,  that  we  were  roused  by  the  report  of-  musketry,  and 
found  the  whole  camp  a  scene  of  the  utmost  confusion  and 
commotion.  A  number  of  the  men,  owing  to  the  fatigue 
of  the  previous  day,  and  having  slept  little  the  previous 
night,  were  so  sound  asleep,  that  it  was  only  by  violently 
shaking  or  kicking  them,  that  they  could  be  roused.  At 
last  they  were  all  got  up  and  formed  into  line,  when  we 
were  directed  to  examine  the  priming  of  our  muskets,  and 
see  if  they  were  ready  for  immediate  use.  In  the  meantime 
the  balls  flew  over  our  heads,  with  their  peculiar  metallic 
ringing  sort  of  whistle,  in  quick  succession  ;  and,  though 
high  enoagh  fortunately  to  do  little  damage,  yet  quite  near 
enough  to  make  nervous  persons  feel  rather  uncomfortable. 
The  firing  continued  for  about  ten  minutes,  in  as  quick  a 
succession  of  reports  as  would  be  made  by  the  irregular  file- 
firing  of  two  or  three  hundred  men  ;  and,  if  it  had  been  well 
directed,  as  it  easily  might  have  been,  by  an  enemy  well 
acquainted  with  the  surrounding  country,  and  the  position 
we  occupied,  we  might  have  paid  dear  for  our  "  lodgings 
upon  the  cold  ground."  A  few  rounds  from  a  division  of 
infantry  ordered  out  for  the  purpose,  having  caused  these 
night  disturbers  to  scamper,  we  soon  piled  arms,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  were  again  fast  asleep ;  and,  thanks  to  the 
vigilance  of  our  out-lying  piquets,  who  gave  and  received  a 
dropping  fire  until  near  morning,  we  enjoyed  our  slumbers 
unmolested  during  the  remainder  of  the  night.  Next  morn 
ing,  we  learned  that  the  firing  of  the  previous  night  had 
proceeded  from  a  body  of  lancers  from  the  city,  who  had 
been  quickly  driven  in  by  a  regiment  of  General  Worth's 
division.  The  casualties  of  the  night  were  five  or  six  wound 
ed,  one  or  two  of  whom  were,  report  said-,  dangerously  hurt; 
but  there  had  been  none  killed. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

General   Scott — The   Shell — Naval   sporting — Investment  of  Vera 
Cruz — Vergara — Spoiling  the  knapsacks. 

EARLY  next  morning,  the  third  division,  with  the  Cora- 
mander-in-Chief,  General  Scott,  landed  ;  and  our  army  hav 
ing  been  formed  into  column,  we  moved  to  a  position  a  mile 
or  two  nearer  the  town,  and  covered  from  observation  by  the 
sand-hills.  Here  we  bivouacked  in  the  vicinity  of  a  small 
stream — General  Scott  and  his  staff  had  tents  pitched — the 
remainder,  officers  as  well  as  men,  crept  under  the  shade  of 
the  bushes  to  screen  themselves  from  the  scorching"  rays  of 
the  sun,  or  sticking  stout  branches  upright  in  the  ground, 
cut  a  quantity  of  leafy  twigs  to  serve  as  a  roof,  and  thus 
made  a  tolerable  sort  of  a  bower.  In  the  meantime,  one  of 
our  light  batteries  was  out  skirmishing  with  the  enemy's 
outposts,  which  offering  slight  resistance,  were  successively 
driven  in  with  little  difficulty.  From  the  landing  of  siege 
material  and  heavy  ordnance,  which  had  busily  commenced, 
we  now  perceived  that  the  intention  of  General  Scott  was  to 
bombard  the  city. 

A  great  deal  of  virtuous  indignation  has  been  exhibited 
by  the  English,  press  on  the  subject  of  the  bombardment  of 
Vera  Cruz,  which  it  has  generally  stigmatized  as  a  barbarous 
slaughter  of  women  and  children,  having  no  parallel  in 
modern  history.  It  was  asserted  that  "Wellington,  or  any  of 
his  generals,  had  never  bombarded  an  open  city,  and  a  great 
deal  more  of  a  similar  tendency,  all  calculated  to  show  that 


A    SLANDER    REFUTED.  153 

war  is  carried  on  in  a  hio-hlv  liumane  and  civilized  mwde  by 

O        v  J 

the  enlightened  nations  of  Europe  ;  and  that  the  Americans, 
and  General  Scott  in  particular,  had  behaved  in  a  very  bar 
barous  manner.  Now  all  that  sort  of  twaddle  seems  exces 
sively  weak  to  any  one  at  all  acquainted  with  the  circum 
stances  ;  the  truth  being  notorious  that  General  Scott, 
besides  being  one  of  the  most  skilful  and  scientific  generals 
of  modern  times,  is  also  one  of  the  most  humane  men  in  the 
world.  For  my  part,  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  his 
character,  in  respect  of  the  noblest  attributes  of  humanity, 
may  bear  triumphant  comparison  with  that  of  the  most 
praiseworthy  and  philanthropic  members  of  any  society, 
order,  or  profession,  in  the  world.  The  real  fact  being,  that 
his  humanity,  and  a  desire  to  spare  a  needless  effusion  of 
blood,  caused  him  to  adopt  the  method  he  took  for  the 
reduction  of  Vera  Cruz ;  being  anxious  to  avoid  a  repeti 
tion  of  the  horrible  and  savagely  barbarous  scenes  consequent 
on  the  storming  of  a  city,  of  which  the  history  of  the  Peninsu 
lar  war  may  furnish  a  few  examples  illustrative  of  the  humane 
practices  of  European  armies.  To  understand  this  apparent 
paradox,  one  should  know  a  few  of  the  facts  of  the  case.  In 
the  first  place,  Vera  Cruz,  so  far  from  being  an  open  city,  is 
very  well  fortified,  having  a  wall  and  ditch  all  round  it,  and 
a  series  of  half-moon  batteries,  not  deficient  in  the  requisite 
ordnance  to  make  a  stout  resistance.  These  batteries  sweep 
a  perfectly  level  plain,  extending  from  half  a  mile  to  a  mile 
between  the  walls  and  the  sand-hills,  and  would  have  proved 
very  destructive  to  an  assaulting  party.  Now,  if  the  inha 
bitants,  receiving,  as  they  did,  two  or  three  weeks'  previous 
notice  to  quit,  preferred  remaining  in  the  city,  General  Scott 
having  plainly  signified  that,  for  certain  economical  reasons, 
he  declined  taking  their  batteries  with  the  bayonet,  and 
intended  to  try  a  game  at  the  long  bowls,  which  the  Mexi- 


154  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

cans  are  so  fond  of  themselves — if,  being  duly  warned,  they 
chose  to  remain  and  be  killed,  I  do  not  see  how  General 
Scott  should  be  blamed  for  the  result.  But  let  us  suppose 
that,  with  the  intention  of  sparing  the  lives  of  the  inhabitants, 
by  the  very  disinterested  sacrifice  of  the  lives  of  a  few  of  the 
troops  under  his  command,  he  had  decided  on  carrying  the 
place  by  assault,  which  would  probably  have  cost  the  assault 
ing  force  from  1,000  to  1,500  men ;  does  any  person,  in  the 
possession  of  sound  intellect,  imagine  that,  in  the  latter  event, 
General  Scott  could  have  prevented  scenes  of  plunder,  the 
resistance  of  inhabitants,  and  the  commission  of  deeds  of 
crime  and  horror,  fearful  to  contemplate  \  Those  who  think 
that  troops,  even  of  well-disciplined  armies  (a  character  I 
would  by  no  means  claim  for  the  army  under  General  Scott), 
can  be  held  in  subordinate  check  by  any  amount  of  exertion 
on  the  part  of  their  officers,  on  an  occasion  of  the  above 
nature,  are  not  likely,  I  apprehend,  to  form  a  correct  idea 
on  the  subject.  But  to  any  impartial  person,  taking  an 
unprejudiced  view  of  the  case,  I  think  it  will  appear  tolerably 
obvious,  that  the  method  adopted  by  General  Scott  was  the 
most  humane  even  for  the  inhabitants. 

A  few  days  after  landing,  the  various  divisions  were 
ordered  to  the  positions  which  they  were  to  occupy  during 
the  progress  of  the  siege.  The  division  to  which  I  belonged, 
that  of  General  Twiggs,  was  ordered  to  Vergara,  a  small 
village  close  to  the  sea-beach,  and  on  the  north-west  side  of 
the  city,  from  which  it  was  distant  about  four  miles.  In 
crossing  a  high  sand-hill  behind  the  city,  our  men  being 
exposed  to  the  view  of  one  of  their  batteries,  they  kept  up  an 
incessant  fire  of  round  shot  and  shell  while  our  division 
passed,  which,  being  in  file,  occupied  a  considerable  time ; 
but  they  showed  no  great  proficiency  in  gunnery  on  this 
occasion,  as  very  few  of  their  shot  took  effect.  It  was  here 


THE  PASSAGE  OF  A  SHELL.  155 

that  I  heard,  for  the  first  time,  the  singular  and  diabolically- 
horrific  sound  which  a  large  shell  jnakes  when  passing 
within  a  short  distance  ;  I  don't  mean  when  it  explodes  (as 
that  exactly  resembles  the  noise  made  in  firing  a  gun),  but 
when  it  passes  within  a  few,  or  it  may  be  fifty  or  a  hundred 
yards ;  the  noise  seeming  equally  loud  and  discordant  in 
either  case.  I  recollect  a  reply  of  honest  Mick  Ryan  on 
being  asked  if  he  had  ever  heard  a  sound  like  that  before. 
"  No,"  said  Mick,  "  one  can  both  hear  and  feel  that  sound — 
by  the  Eternal,  I  felt  it  all  over."  There  is  no  earthly  sound 
bearing  the  slightest  resemblance  to  its  monstrous  dissonance  ; 
the  angriest  shriek  of  the  railway  whistle,  or  the  most 
emphatic  demonstration  of  an  asthmatic  engine  at  the  start 
ing  of  a  train,  would  seem  like  a  strain  of  heavenly  melody 
by  comparison.  Perhaps  Milton's  description  of  the  harsh, 
thunder-grating  of  the  hinges  of  the  infernal  gates,  approach 
es  to  a  faint  realization  of  the  indescribable  sound,  which 
bears  a  more  intimate  relation  to  the  sublime  than  the 
beautiful.  However,  the  Mexicans  did  very  small  damage 
by  their  practice  ;  the  only  result  was  to  make  our  men  fall 
ilat  on  the  sand ;  which  they  did  every  time  a  shell  came, 
ancl  which  I  have  no  doubt  saved  a  few  limbs  from  damage. 
It  was  amusing,  even  amidst  the  danger  from  these  horrid 
missiles,  to  see  an  officer,  after  getting  up  and  anathematiz 
ing  his  men  emphatically  for  lying  down  on  the  sand,  drop 
as  suddenly  and  as  flat  as  any  of  them,  when  the  next  shell 
came  whizzing  rather  close  to  him.  The  only  victim  to  this 
ball-practice  of  the  Mexicans  in  our  regiment  was  a  little 
drummer-boy,  about  thirteen  years  of  age,  named  Rome, 
who  had  one  of  his  arms  shot  off  by  the  fragment  of  an 
exploding  shell.  He  was  one  of  the  most  quiet  and  obliging 
boys  in  the  regiment,  %nd  we  were  all  very  sorry  for  him ; 
many  of  the  men  saying  if  it  had  been  such  a  boy  (naming 


156  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIEIl    IN    MEXICO. 

one  of  the  others),  it  would  have  been  no  great  matter,  but 
it  was  a  pity  for  poor  little  Rome.  The  little  fellow  cried 
very  bitterly  at  the  time,  but  the  .surgeon  having  carefully 
amputated  it,  he  soon  recovered,  and  on  our  regiment 
returning  to  New  York  in  August,  1849,  he  came  over  to 
Governor's  Island  to  see  us.  He  was  then  living  with  a 
gentleman  in  New  York,  who  employed  him  to  carry  mes 
sages  and  do  light  work  for  him.  A  captain  of  a  volunteer 
regiment  had  his  head  taken  ofY  by  a  cannon-ball  the  same 
afternoon;  but  considering  the  immense  amount  of  their 
practice,  and  tho  quantity  of  ammunition  fired  by  their 
various  batteries,  the  smallness  of  our  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded  is  astonishing  :  the  total  American  loss  including 
those  killed  and  wounded  in  skirmishes  in  the  vicinity  of  tho 
city,  during  the  whole  siege,  only  amounted  to  seventeeii 
killed  and  fifty-seven  wounded. 

We  bivouacked  near  the  edge  of  a  thick  chaparral,  about 
four  or  five  miles  from  Vergara,  the  position  our  division  was 
to  occupy  ;  but  which,  for  some  reason  or  other,  we  did  not 
move  to  for  the  next  three  days.  We  were  amused  with  a 
volunteer  whom  we  met  here,  coming  out  of  the  chaparral 
loaced  with  two  muskets  and  a  turkey.  He  had  followed 
the  turkey,  a  tame  one,  into  the  chaparral,  and  having 
strayed  too  far  off  the  road,  he  was  seen  and  fired  at  by  a 
Mexican  piquet — they  exchanged  a  few  shots,  he  said,  when 
he  killed  the  yellow  beggar  by  shooting  him  through  the 
body.  He  had  brought  the  Mexican's  musket  as  well  as  the 
turkey,  a  fine  fat  one,  and  decidedly  the  most  valuable  prize 
in  general  estimation  ;  he  spoke  very  contemptuously  of  the 
Mexican's  skill  in  the  use  of  fire-arms,  none  of  his  shots 
having  come  within  yards  of  him.  On  quitting  us,  he  added, 
that  there  were  plenty  more  in  the  chaparral,  and  he  guessed 
he  would  shoot  another  before  sun-down ;  whether  he  meant 


DESULTORY    SKIRMISHES.  157 

turkey  or  Mexican  was  difficult  to  comprehend,  but,  as  he 
seemed  to  enjoy  the  sport  of  shooting  the  one  biped  about  as 
much  as  the  other,  I  have  no  doubt  he  considered  them 
both  equally  fair  game.  As  usual,  we  were  aroused  during 
the  night  by  the  firing  of  musketry,  and  fell  in  under  arms 
until  the  alarm  was  discovered  to  be  false.  These  nocturnal 
alarms  were  very  annoying  for  the  first  week  or  so  after 
landing,  as  we  never  passed  a  night  without  being  roused 
from  our  sleep,  and  ordered  to  fall  in  under  arms,  and  this 
too,  twice  or  thrice  during  the  course  of  the  night  sometimes. 
At  last,  as  they  were  found,  except  in  one  or  two  instances, 
to  be  caused  by  the  blundering  of  sentries,  a  number  of 
whom  were  Germans,  and  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with 
the  English  language  to  clearly  comprehend  their  orders, 
our  officers  ceased  to  mind  these  alarms ;  and  when  wakened 
by  the  report  of  a  few  muskets  we  only  turned  over  to  sleep 
again,  grumbling  a  curse  on  the  stupidity  originating  the 
disturbance.  Bodies  of  the  enemy,  principally  lancers,  were 
known  to  be  in  the  vicinity ;  but,  owing  to  the  nature  of  the 
country  round  Vera  Cruz,  which  is  covered  with  chaparral, 
no  body  of  the  enemy  could  approach  our  lines  at  night  by 
any  other  mode  than  the  open  road.  These  keys  of  the 
position  were  well  watched  by  our  piquets,  and  being  defend 
ed  by  a  few  field-pieces,  there  was  little  danger  to  be 
apprehended  from  an  enemy  like  the  one  we  had  to  contend 
with.  A  few  desultory  skirmishes  took  place  between  part 
of  General  Worth's  division,  consisting  of  volunteers,  and 
Colonel  Harney's  dragoons,  and  a  body  of  Mexican  lancers ; 
but  the  Mexicans  fought  very  shy  on  these  occasions,  and 
soon  gave  up  the  idea  of  being  able  to  effect  anything  like  a 
bold  stroke  in  favour  of  the  besieged.  For  two  or  three 
days  after  moving  from  where  we  landed,  all  our  provisions 
had  to  be  carried  from  the  beach,  a  distance  of  three  or  four 


158  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

miles  through  heavy  sands,  and  under  a  scorching  sun  ;  and 
as  the  men  who  carried  them  had  to  take  their  arms  at  the 
same  time,  to  defend  themselves  in  case  of  an  attack,  the 
duty  was  excessively  fatiguing.  Several  of  our  men  who 
died  shortly  after,  assigned  as  the  cause  of  their  illness,  the 
over-exertion  they  had  used  when  on  these  harassing  fatigue 
duties. 

Our  supply  of  water  whih  lying  here  was  scanty  and  bad, 
being  only  procurable  by  digging  holes  in  the  sand  to  the 
depth  of  four  or  five  feet,  and  then  waiting  until  the  muddy- 
looking  fluid  oozed  up  to  a  sufficient  depth  to  enable  us  to 
dip  it  with  the  tin  cups  which  we  carried.  We  were  all  very 
glad,  therefore,  when  we  moved  to  Vergara,  as  we  were  told 
that  there,  at  least,  we  should  have  plenty  of  good  water. 
Our  road  at  first  wound  through  chaparral  and  tangled 
thickets  of  cacti  and  other  war-like  vegetables  of  the  chcvaux 
de  frise  order,  along  the  edge  of  a  marsh,  where  we  halted 
in  order  to  drink  and  fill  our  canteens  with  the  water  which 
it  contained.  As  we  had  all  been  suffering  considerably  for 
the  previous  two  days  from  the  effects  of  thirst,  few  were  in 
clined  to  cflticise  too  nicely  the  quality  of  this  water,  which, 
though  not  exactly  transparent,  yet  to  observe  the  apparent 
gusto  with  which  almost  all  quaffed  repeated  draughts  of  it, 
one  might  have  fancied  it  to  be  exceedingly  like  nectar,  inde 
scribably  sweet.  "  Hunger  is  a  good  sauce,"  says  the  pro 
verb,  and  thirst  is  equally  remarkable  as  a  filter.  We  had  a 
Mexican  guide  with  us  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
country  in  the  environs  of  the  city,  and  who  rode  beside 
General  Twiggs.  In  all  our  marches  in  Mexico,  the  guide 
always  rode  along  with  the  commander  of  the  division,  act 
ing  as  interpreter  and  guide  both,  upon  occasion.  When  we 
approached  within  two  miles  of  Vergara,  our  road  led 
through  a  rich  and  fertile  soil,  partially  cultivated,  and  con- 


THE    BEAUTIES    OF    A    CHAPARRAL.  159 

taining  a  number  of  very  large  and  venerable-looking  trees. 
We  also  passed  several  ranchos,  but  all  deserted  by  their  own 
ers,  the  poor  creatures  having  been  the  first  to  suffer  from  our 
invasion.  We  soon  reached  Vergara,  a  few  straggling  huts 
on  a  road  leading  down  to  the  beach.  A  beautiful  clear  stream 
emptied  its  waters  into  the  sea  close  to  the  village,  so  clear 
that  every  motion  of  the  small  fish  playing  in  its  pellucid  pools, 
was  as  distinctly  visible  as  those  of  the  unfortunate  goldfish 
one  sometimes  observes  pensively  circumgyrating  in  the  inte 
rior  of  its  enchantod  globular  ball  in  the  shop-window.  The 
banks  of  the  stream  were  shaded  for  miles  by  magnificent 
trees,  and  in  the  adjacent  thickets  a  variety  of  wild  fruits 
were  found-  growing  ;  but  the  only  ones  I  found  ripe  were 
lemons  and  limes,  of  which  I  plucked  quantities  to  squeeze 
in  water,  an  acidulous  drink  being  exceedingly  refreshing 
with  the  thermometer  upwards  of  ninety.  When  returning 
in  July  of  the  following  year,  1  found  some  delicious  guavas 
and  sour  sops  in  these  thickets.  The  timber  and  the  fertil 
ity  of  the  soil  are  unusual  features  in  the  face  of  the  country 
in  the  vicinity  of  Vera  Cruz  ;  for  a  considerable  distance 
round  which  sandy  hillocks  and  swampy  morasses,  varied  by 
a  section  of  dense  chaparral,  are  the  general  rule.  Tho 
chaparral,  or  natural  thicket,  of  Mexico,  is  totally  unlike 
any  other  thicket  I  have  ever  seen — a  great  portion  of  it 
being  completely  impenetrable.  All  the  shrubs  and  trees  of 
the  dense  chaparral  bear  clusters  of  thorns,  sharp  as  the 
«tings  of  bees,  and  as  stubborn  as  bayonets.  The  various 
tribes  of  the  cactus  nation,  with  their  innumerable  needles — 
trifles  in  comparison  to  the  thorns  before  mentioned — fill  up 
the  intervals  between  the  thorn-bearing  trees,  rendering  the 
whole  a  complete  series  of  impregnable  natural  defences. 
The  foregoing  description  applies  to  thick  or  dense  chapar 
ral,  which  is  utterly  impassable — of  course,  there  are  por- 


160  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

tions  of  it  more  open,  where  thorny  shrubs  are  less  frequent, 
and  which  may  be  traversed  with  ease. 

"We  found  a  waggon  loaded  with  barrels  of  Madeira  wine 
in  the  village — it  had  just  arrived  from  Jalapa,  and  was  des 
tined  for  the  garrison  at  Vera  Cruz.  General  Twiggs  ordered 
the  wine  to  be  distributed  amongst  the  men,  and  we  each 
received  a  small  measure  containing  about  half-a-pint. 
General  Twiggs  and  his  officers  found  good  quarters  in  the 
huts  of  the  village — the  different  regiments  bivouacking  in 
the  vicinity.  In  the  evening  a  report  was  current  that  a 
body  of  lancers  meant  to  attack  us  during  the  night,  and  the 
piquets  had  orders  to  be  on  the  alert.  The  road,  at  the  dis 
tance  of  about  a  mile  from  our  encampment,  was  defended 
by  two  field-pieces,  and  a  few  trees  were  felled  and  laid 
across  the  road,  but  the  lancers  declined  making  their  appear 
ance. 

Next  day  a  schooner  arrived  loaded  with  provisions, 
saving  the  men  a  very  laborious  task  of  carrying  them  round 
from  the  beach.  Still  the  duties  of  guards,  piquets,  and 
fatigue  parties,  harassed  the  men  greatly ;  and  many  of 
them  were  soon  prostrated  by  disease — especially  with  that 
scourge  of  armies  on  a  campaign,  diarrhoea.  About  a  week 
after  our  arrival,  we  also  got  tents  pitched — our  regimental 
baggage  having  been  brought  round  from  Sacrificios  by 
light  sailing  vessels.  Our  knapsacks  also  arrived  at  the  same 
time ;  but  the  plight  in  which  we  received  them,  was  the 
cause  of  loud  and  general  complaint ;  many  of  them  being 
rifled  of  their  most  valuable  contents,  and  some  completely- 
gutted,  while  but  a  small  number  had  escaped  untouched. 
They  had  been  left  on  the  beach,  at  the  place  where  we  had 
landed,  for  the  previous  eight  or  ten  days,  during  which  time 
they  had  been  in  charge  of  different  hordes  of  volunteers, 
who,  as  might  have  been  expected,  had  made  rather  too  free 


THE    RIFLISG    OF    THE    KNAPSACKS.  161 

with  their  contents.  But  there  was  no  help  for  it ;  and  the 
bursting  choler  of  many  found  vent  in  a  storm  of  impreca 
tions  and  maledictions,  while  the  more  cool  and  reflective 
only  hoped  they  would  have  an  opportunity  of  serving  out  a 
volunteer  before  the  end  of  the  campaign. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  prophecy  fulfilled — The  bombardment — Visit  to  Vera  Cruz. 

A  SINGULAR  coincidence  with  the  prediction  of  the  insane 
sailor  who  came  to  Tampico  with  us  in  the  John  Potter,  oc 
curred  while  we  lay  at  Vergara.  This  was  the  total  loss  of 
that  brig,  which,  with  two  schooners  sent  round  from  Sacri- 
ficios  with  stores  and  provisions,  was  driven  ashore  by  one 
of  those  violent  north  gales  which  blow  so  frequently  on  this 
coast  during  the  winter.  There  being  no  practicable  means 
of  getting  them  off,  without  incurring  more  expense  than 
they  were  worth,  they  were  left  to  their  fate  ;  and  when  we 
returned  in  the  summer  of  the  following  year,  their  upright 
timbers  protruded  from  the  sand,  where  they  lay  firmly  im 
bedded.  Several  of  our  men  considered  the  occurrence 
ocular  demonstration  of  the  existence  of  witchcraft,  or  some 
species  of  demonology,  and  some  whom  the  march  of  intel 
lect  had  rendered  sceptical  on  these  points  had  their  faith  in 
these  ancient  doctrines  revived  and  confirmed. 

The  preparations  for  the  bombardment  of  the  city  mean 
while  went  on  vigorously,  but  many  of  the  men  appeared  to 
think  that  General  Scott  was  only  losing  time,  and  that  a 
rush  on  the  city  at  all  points,  to  carry  it  by  a  coup  de  main. 
would  be  the  only  proper  and  effectual  plan  of  proceeding. 
General  Twiggs  himself  had  been  heard  to  express  his  disap 
proval  of  losing  so  much  time,  after  the  following  manner. 
"  Ugli !  my  boys  '11  have  to  take  it  yet  with  their  bayonets." 
A.S  a  short  description  of  General  Twiggs  may  not  be  alto- 


A    PERSONAL    SKETCH.  163 

gether  uninteresting,  I  will  give  it  as  it  struck  me  at  the 
time.  In  height  the  General  is  about  five  feet  ten  inches, 
very  broad  shouldered  and  bull-necked,  and  is  altogether  a 
very  stout  and  robust-looking  man,  though  verging  on  sixty 
years  of  age.  His  face  is  large  and  red,  with  blue  eyes,  and 
rather  coarse  and  heavy-looking  features  ;  an  exuberant  mass 
of  tow-white  hair,  with  long  beard,  and  whiskers  of  the  same 
colour,  give  him  a  gruff  appearance,  quite  in  keeping  with 
his  character,  in  which  the  disagreeable  and  the  unprepos 
sessing  are  the  preponderating  qualities.  But  he  was  a  great 
favourite  amongst  the  men,  who  admired  him  principally,  I 
believe,  for  his  brusquerie  and  coarseness  of  manner,  and  a 
singular  habit  he  had  of  swearing  most  vehemently,  and  fly 
ing  into  a  passion  on  the  most  trifling  occasions.  But  though 
General  Twiggs  had  the  most  republican  contempt  for  eti 
quette,  and  even  the  common  courtesies  of  civilized  life,  in 
his  intercourse  with  others,  he  was  furious  if  a  soldier  hap 
pened  to  omit  paying  him  the  customary  military  salute  in 
passing. 

The  erection  of  the  batteries  on  the  sand  hills,  and  the 
conveyance  of  so  much  heavy  ammunition  to  places  conve 
nient,  was  a  very  laborious  task  for  our  army  in  such  a  warm 
and  exhausting  climate.  But  all  the  troops  took  their  share 
of  the  duty,  each  regiment  working  so  many  hours  in  suc 
cession,  under  its  officers.  At  last,  by  dint  of  prodigious  and 
untiring  exertion,  parties  of  our  men  having  been  employed 
in  working  day  and  night  ever  since, our  landing,  on  the 
22nd  of  March,  all  being  ready  for  operations,  the  town  was 
formally  summoned,  and  the  governor  having  refused  to  sur 
render,  the  work  of  havoc  and  destruction  was  ordered  to  be 
commenced.  For  three  successive  days  and  nights,  with 
short  periods  of  intermission,  the  thunders  of  our  guns  and 
mortars,  and  the  enemy's  batteries  in  the  city,  were  most 


164  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

deafening  and  incessant.  On  a  height  near  our  camp  at 
Vergara,  a  number  of  our  men  frequently  stood  watching 
the  shells  at  night ;  their  appearance  resembled  that  of  the 
meteors  called  shooting  or  falling  stars  ;  and  they  were  dis 
tinctly  visible  from  the  time  when  they  began  to  ascend  in 
their  circling  course  until  they  disappeared  among  the  roofs 
of  the  buildings.  At  length,  on  the  2Gth,  after  shot  and 
shell  to  the  number  of  seven  thousand  of  those  destructive 
missiles  had  been  poured  into  the  unfortunate  city,  they  dis 
played  a  white  flag,  and  after  a  day  or  two  spent  in  nego 
tiating,  the  following  terms  were  finally  agreed  on.  The  town 
and  castle  were  to  be  surrendered  on  the  29th,  the  garrison 
to  march  out  of  the  central  city  gate  and  lay  down  their 
arms,  and  to  be  furnished  with  four  days'  provisions.  The 
officers  to  be  allowed  to  retain  their  arms,  and  to  have  five 
days  to  return  to  their  native  homes  ;  all  public  property  and 
materiel  of  war  to  belong  to  the  American  forces,  the  sick 
and  wounded  to  be  allowed  to  remain  in  the  city,  and  no 
private  property  or  building  to  be  taken  possession  of  by  the 
Americans.  On  the  29th,  the  Mexicans,  amounting  to  be 
tween  four  and  five  thousand,  marched  out  of  the  city,  and 
deposited  their  arms  in  front  of  a  strong  body  of  the  Ame 
rican  army  drawn  up  to  receive  them.  A  brigade  under 
General  Quitman  inarched  in  and  occupied  the  garrisons 
forthwith,  and  the-  American  flag  floated  over  San  Juan 
d'Ulloa  and  the  city  of  Vera  Cruz. 

Having  procured  a  written  permission  from  the  officer 
commanding  our  regiment,  a  few  days  after  our  troops  had 
taken  possession  of  the  city,  I  visited  it  in  company  with 
Sergeants  Lear  and  Beebe,  of  ours ;  being  curious  to  observe 
the  effects  of  the  bombardment,  and  also  to  gratify  our 
curiosity  with  a  view  of  the  interior  of  a  city  which  at  a 
short  distance  presents  a  very  grand  and  imposing  appear 


EFFECTS    OF    THE       OMBARDMENT.  165 

ance.  The  city  of  Vera  Cruz  is  very  well  built,  the  houses 
being  of  stone,  and  the  walls  of  the  most  substantial  thick 
ness,  an  excellent  thing  in  a  warm  climate.  The  streets  are 
wide  and  well  paved,  and  its  general  appearance  is  that  of  a 
clean,  neat,  and  compactly  built  city.  It  contains  a  number 
of  very  handsome  churches,  the  painted  and  gilt  domes  of 
which  give  a  highly  imposing. effect  to  the  view  of  it  from  a 
short  distance.  The  interiors  of  several  of  these  churches 
which  we  visited  were  highly  ornamented  with  shrines,  and 
all  the  profusion  of  carving,  gilding,  and  painting,  usual  in 
these  places;  the  most  of  it  tawdry  and  vulgar-looking  I 
imagined.  One  of  the  churches  which  we  entered  near  the 
centre  of  the  city,  the  most  richly  decorated  we  have  seen, 
having  a  fine  marble-paved  floor,  a  magnificent  dome,  and 
some  very  good  pictures,  had  been  converted  into  an  hospital 
for  the  wounded,  and  contained  upwards  of  a  hundred  male 
patients  at  the  time  we  were  in  it.  Several  shells  had  fallen 
through  the  dome,  on  the  marble  floor,  the  fragments  of 
which  had  made  sad  mutilations  of  the  pictures  and  effigies 
of  the  saints  and  virgins  of  the  various  shrines  round  the 
building.  And  what  seemed  to  us  heretics  far  more  pitiable, 
though  doubtless  of  minor  importance  in  the  eyes  of  a  true 
Catholic,  one  of  these  shells  had  killed  and  wounded  about 
twenty  of  the  unfortunate  inhabitants  who  had  fled  to  its 
shelter  as  a  sanctuary  of  safety  during  the  bombardment. 
The  whole  of  the  south-west  side  of  the  city,  which,  lying 
nearest  our  batteries,  was  most  exposed  to  the  storm  of 
destructive  missiles,  was  a  scene  of  desolation  calculated  to 
make  the  most  strenuous  advocates  of  physical  force  pause 
and  reflect.  For  my  own  part,  while  ready  to  admit  the 
whole  weight  and  force  of  such  powerful  arguments,  I  felt 
strongly  inclined  to  doubt  the  justice  or  propriety  of  having 
recourse  to  them.  Whole  streets  were  crumbled  to  ruins, 


166  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIEU    IN    MEXICO. 

and  they  told  us  the  killed  and  wounded  inhabitants  amounted 
to  between  five  arid  six  hundred,  while  the  soldiers  who  had 
been  employed  at  their  batteries  during  the  whole  time  of 
the  bombardment  had  as  many  more ;  the  entire  killed  and 
wounded  being  over  a  thousand. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


v  ;:.i-rr»-  x-o:i  X\:M\V  aoiernnnoc  TO  Jo>e  no  lime  in 
:he  nisin  Kv:y  :o  .1^1^^*.  where  ii  ^-jtj  <*id  to  .  .   .   - 

The  oiler  TWO  divisions  fo^ovir^  is  saooessjoai.     A^ 


o 

:oii  o    o>ir 

:;:  -,:N.  ^     i.::e     ^vit'ST  \>    n 
o..r-vvU\:  :^  in    i\s«.-iv    \:p  *i-      ii     n 
>:.  r\>  .s:   Ve.rs   0"r.;r.      A  c^e.**  numixT  v^"  sivi  w 
IX^;::K;.  :V»  v>f  vhoi::  ^vor  >vXUt*d  s^*in.  s>  iiio^i  of  i 

!V-..;O>*<  SOOli  foil  >io'im<  1O  lilr  UnvivCoSJCSQ^  v'uilUSTv  JiSvl  ll>t" 

~-ive  in 


-o-v^   O^IXV^.Y  sorry, 

nor.y  moiii-xMiod,  vho  \koiv  ien  IvHixi  wiiii 
vur  ooir»j\*ny.  ii>d  vM'  wbv^e  daaiii>  we  received  ini 


Or.  ::ie  inv^rni      of 


id  s»  SUJL!  Kvi    of  Ciradnr, 


1G8  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

on  our  march  to  Jalapa.  For  the  first  six  or  "seven  miles  our 
progress  was  very  slow  and  painful,  the  road  being  a  loose 
sand,  in  which  we  sank  to  the  ankles  at  every  step.  A  great 
many  of  the  men,  myself  among  the  number,  were  ill  with 
diarrhoea ;  but  being  of  opinion  that  small  chance  of  renewed 
health  awaited  those  who  stayed  behind  in  the  hospitals  at 
Vera  Cruz,  we  were  all  glad  to  get  away  from  it ;  trusting 
for  a  renewal  of  our  exhausted  vigour  to  the  purer  air  of  the 
mountains,  which  a  few  days'  march  would  enable  us  to 
breathe.  After  marching  about  three  miles,  we  halted  at  a 
bridge  thrown  over  a  small  stream  which  crossed  the  road, 
and  many  of  the  men  taking  off  their  knapsacks,  began  to 
select  those  articles  which  they  resolved  to  carry,  throwing 
the  remainder  away.  Numbers  of  them  reserved  only  a 
great-coat  or  blanket,  deliberately  sacrificing  the  rest  of  their 
effects,  and  before  we  reached  Santa  Fe,  a  small  village 
about  eight  miles  from  Yergara,  the  road  was  strewn  with 
articles  of  clothing  thrown  aAvay  by  the  men. 

We  halted  in  the  village  of  Santa  Fe,  for  a  short  time, 
and  General  Twiggs  and  the  officers  of  his  staff  entered  a 
house  where  they  sat  down  to  rest,  sheltered  from  the  scorch 
ing  heat  of  the  sun.  Some  of  the  men  in  the  meantime  had 
discovered  an  apartment  at  the  other  end  of  the  building, 
containing  some  barrels  of  aquadiente,  or  Mexican  brandy, 
and  an  entrance  having  been  effected,  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  liquor  had  found  its  way  into  the  men's  canteens,  be 
fore  a  knowledge  of  their  proceedings  had  been  communi 
cated  by  the  Mexican  to  the  General.  The  anger  of  Gene 
ral  Twiggs  as  he  rushed  to  the  scene,  and  the  celerity  with 
which  the  marauders  "  vamosed  the  ranche"  as  they  heard 
the  ominous  alarm  of  "  here's  old  Davy,"  transcend  descrip 
tion.  Two  or  three  of  the  unlucky  wights,  however,  he  met 
on  the  threshold  of  the  door,  on  their  way  out ;  these  he 


THE    MARCH.  169 

seized  by  the  collar  and  swung  round  till  he  had  an  oppor 
tunity  of  administering  a  sound  kick  to  their  posteriors. 
None  of  them,  however,  stayed  to  remonstrate  on  these 
rather  unpleasant  demonstrations  of  the  old  General's  love  of 
justice,  being  only  too  happy  to  get  out  of  that  fix  so  easily, 
and  the  bugle  having  been  ordered  to  sound  "  The  Assembly," 
we  were  formed  into  our  ranks,  and  the  march  was  imme 
diately  resumed. 

General  Twiggs,  who  rode  at  the  head  of  the  division, 
committed  a  great  error  in  permitting  the  men  in  front  to 
walk  too  quick  on  this  day's  inarch.  The  consequence  of 
this  was  that  a  great  many  of  the  men  being  weak  from  the 
effects  of  diarrhoea  could  not  keep  up,  and  slipped  oft*  the 
road  into  the  thickets,  which  after  leaving  Santa  Fe  began 
to  offer  an  inviting  shade,  and  in  which  many  of  them  lay 
down  and  deliberately  resolved  on  staying  behind  the  division. 
When  we  reached  the  place  where  we  were  to  encamp  for 
the  night,  a  small  stream  about  five  miles  from  Santa  Fe, 
the  rear  of  the  column  was  several  miles  behind,  the  men 
straggling  along  the  road  at  their  own  discretion  ;  and  when 
the  rolls  were  called  at  sunset,  about  a  third  of  the  men  were 
absent,  not  having  come  up.  We  bivouacked  under  the 
trees  by  the  roadside,  the  grass  was  deliciously  soft  and  elas 
tic,  and,  after  a  supper  of  coffee,  biscuit,  and  pork,  Nutt 
made  us  some  aquadiente  punch,  after  quaffing  a  bumper  or 
two  of  which,  we  lay  down,  and  slept  very  comfortably  until 
roused  by  the  reveille  next  morning  about  four  o'clock. 

We  had  warm  coffee  before  starting  in  the  morning,  our 
cooks,  who  had  no  other  duties  to  perform  on  a  march,  ex 
cept  cooking,  always  getting  up  sufficiently  early  to  have 
coffee  ready  before  the  hour  of  starting.  On  the  rolls  being 
called  this  morning,  there  were  between  three  and  four  hun 
dred  men  still  absent,  according  to  current  report.  Although 


170  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

there  was  no  great  danger  for  these  men,  as  they  would  go 
in  small  bodies,  for  mutual  protection,  and  each  man.  besides 
being  well  armed,  had  three  days'  provisions  in  his  havresac  ; 
yet  one  could  scarcely  help  thinking  that  it  was  a  strangely 
irregular  system  of  marching,  which,  carried  on  to  much 
greater  extent  would  have  a  fatally  destructive  effect  on  the 
discipline  of  an  army.  We  marched  considerably  slower  to 
day,  resting  more  frequently,  and  taking  care  that  none  of 
the  men  straggled  to  the  rear.  Our  road  to-day  was  over  a 
level  tract  of  country,  containing  some  good  rich  soil,  and  for 
a  distance  of  eight  or  ten  miles  we  had  a  wood  of  very  fine 
looking  timber  on  each  side  of  the  road.  Fantastic  drape 
ries  and  festoons  of  flowing  creepers  and  vines,  hung  from 
the  branches,  and  numerous  beautiful  parasitic  plants  climbed 
the  trunks  of  trees  in  these  woods.  Many  of  4he  trees  also 
bore  magnificent  flowering  blossoms,  and  the  whole  air  was 
redolent  of  their  rich  perfume.  I  was  alnlost  sorry  when  we 
emerged  into  the  light  and  air  of  the  open  country  again, 
though  knowing  it  to  be  infinitely  more  healthy  than  the 
heavily-loaded  and  poisonous  atmosphere  of  these  delightful 
shades,  in  which,  on  account  of  their  beauty,  I  could  have 
lingered  a  little  longer  with  pleasure. 

We  arrived  at  one  o'clock,  and  bivouacked  that  night  at  a 
small  stream,  which  had  the  appearance,  from  its  broad  peb 
bly  channel,  and  a  number  of  deep  pools  which  it  contained, 
of  a  river  of  considerable  size  at  certain  periods  of  the  year. 
My  comrade  Nutt,  and  I,  bathed  in  one  of  these  pools,  and 
found  ourselves  considerably  refreshed  by  the  operation.  One 
of  the  greatest  luxuries  which  I  ever  enjoyed,  is  bathing  in 
a  clear  river  after  a  hot  and  dusty  day's  march.  On  these 
occasions,  of  course  one  should  not  go  in  until  rested  and 
cooled  a  little,  nor  stay  too  long  in,  especially  if  the  water  is 
cold  ;  but  with  the  precautions  which  common  sense  m:vy 


FIRST    SIGHT    OF    THE    NATIONAL    BRIDGE.  ]7l 

teach  one,  besides  being  a  luxury  of  the  highest  order,  I  have 
always  found  it  a  most  valuable  and  powerful  auxiliary  to 
health. 

Some  of  the  men  who  had  fallen  behind  came  up  with  us 
this  evening.  They  said  the  rest  of  the  stragglers  had  de 
termined  not  to  come  up  with  the  division  for  a  few  days. 
They  had  shot  some  cattle,  and  were  plundering  the  houses 
of  those  who  sold  aquadiente  of  that  article,  as  they  came 
aloni>' ;  and  upon  the  whole  they  seemed  to  be  taking  pretty 
good  care  of  themselves  ;  at  all  events  these  demonstrations 
seemed  tolerably  vigorous  for  sick  and  delicate  persons  una 
ble  to  keep  up  witl  the  division.  Most  of  them  came  up 
with  General  Patte*  '•*  division,  which  was  only  one  day's 
march  behind  us,  and  '\cept  a  few  who  were  killed  by  the 
peasantry,  they  iiad  all  joined  before  the  battle  of  Cerro 
Gordo. 

We  commenced  the  next  day's  march  about  an  hour  before 
sunrise,  as  we  wished  to  have  the  most  of  it  over  before  the 
extreme  heat  of  noon.  The  road  was  up  hill,  rocky,  and  very 
bad  travelling  for  man  or  beast;  it  also  lay  through  a  barren 
tract  of  country,  and  water  was  not  to  be  procured.  Those 
men  who  had  neglected  to  fill  their  canteens  with  water  be 
fore  .starting,  found  great  difficulty  in  procuring  a  drink  when 
thirsty  to-day  ;  as  the  others  who  had  been  more  provident, 
considered  it  sufficient  hardship  to  carry  enough  for  them 
selves.  At  length,  about  1 1  o'clock,  on  winding  down  a  steep 
hill,  we  came  in  sight  of  the  Puente  National  (National 
Bridge).  This  was  the  first  scene  since  we  had  entered  Mex 
ico,  that  by  its  picturesque  beauty  called  forth  a  spontaneous 
burst  of  admiration.  "  Scotland  or  d n  me,"  was  the  ex 
clamation  of  Jock  Whitelaw,  a  Glasgow  callant,  as  the  scene 
opened  on  his  delighted  vision.  The  precipitous  banks  of 
the  river,  rocky,  and  ornamented  with  tufts  of  flowering 


172  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

shrubs,  shooting  out  from  its  fissures,  and  suggestive  of  broom 
and  breckan,  blue  bells  and  heather,  render  the  scene  exceed 
ingly  like  the  section  of  a  Scotch  river  glen.  Indeed,  I 
believe  the  most  unimaginative  Scotchman  will  hardly  pass 
the  National  Bridge  without  feeling  his  native  land  suggested 
to  memory  by  the  similar  characteristics  of  the  scenery.  The 
bridge  is  a  very  substantial  and  magnificent-looking  struc 
ture,  built  of  istone  arches  through  which  rushes  the  clear 
and  rapid  stream  over  a  fine  pebbly  channel.  We  halted 
here  a  considerable  time,  for  the  purpose  of  allowing  the  men 
to  refresh  themselves  with  the  delicious  sparkling  water  of 
the  Rio  Antigua  (Old  River).  We  then  marched  through 
a  village  of  huts  which  stood  on  each  side  of  the  road  at  the 
end  of  the  bridge,  the  walls  of  which  were  canes,  and  wooden 
poles,  made  into  a  sort  of  hurdles,  and  the  roofs  thatched 
with  palm  leaves.  The  village  was  shaded  by  some  very  fine 
mimosas,  and  on  a  plain  at  the  end  of  it  we  encamped  for 
the  night.  The  weather  had  been  fine  since  we  left  Vera 
Cruz,  and  we  had  suffered  no  inconvenience  from  sleeping  on 
the  grass  ;  my  health  had  also  materially  improved,  a  result 
I  had  anticipated  from  the  exercise  of  marching,  which  had 
always  agreed  with  me.  In  the  afternoon,  my  comrade  Nutt 
and  myself  went  down  to  the  river  and  bathed,  after  which 
we  washed  our  shirts  and  stockings,  which  soon  dried  in  the 
hot  sunshine.  We  remarked,  while  going  -through  the  vil 
lage,  that  all  the  huts  except  two  or  three  containing  a  few 
old  women  and  children,  were  empty  and  deserted.  This 
was  considered  a  proof  that  a  force  was  collected  at  some 
point  farther  on  the  road,  and  between  us  and  Jalapa. 

We  commenced  our  march  before  sunrise  next  morning  as 
usual,  and  after  a  fatiguing  march  over  a  tolerably  good 
road,  but  mostly  up  hill,  and  with  thick  woods  on  each  side 
of  it,  which  obscured  the  view  and  prevented  the  circulation 


THE    POSITION    OF    THE    ENEMY.  1*/J 

fc 

of  air,  we  arrived  about  twelve  o'clock  at  Plan  del  Rio  (The 
River  of  the  Plain).  At  the  entrance  to  the  village,  wo 
crossed  a  line  bridge  of  hewn  stone,  thrown  over  a  broad 
and  rapid,  but  shallow  stream,  with  broken  and  precipitous 
banks,  covered  with  a  rich  and  luxuriant  vegetation.  The 
village,  a  wretched  collection  of  huts,  of  similar  construction 
to  those  at  the  National  Bridge,  was  also  deserted  by  its 
inhabitants.  A  party  of  lancers  who  .were  there  when  our 
advance  guard,  composed  of  a  troop  of  dragoons,  arrived, 
were  very  near  being  surprised  and  made  prisoners.  They 
had  barely  time  to  ride  off  pursued  by  our  dragoons,  with 
whom  they  exchanged  a  few  shots,  but  owing  to  their  horses 
being  fresh,  while  our  men's  were  tired  with  a  long  march, 
they  soon  increased  the  distance  between  them.  These  were 
an  advanced  piquet  of  the  enemy,  and  we  now  knew  that 
we  were  approaching  close  to  their  position.  We  encamped 
at  the  end  of  the  village,  and  in  the  evening  strong  piquets 
were  posted  on  the  road  in  the  direction  of  the  enemy,  ascer 
tained  to  be  only  a  few  miles  from  Plan  del  Rio  on  the  high 
way  to  Jalapa,  which  ascended  a  steep  hill  near  the  bottom 
of  which  we  were  encamped. 

Our  reconnoitring  parties  soon  discovered  that  the  enemy, 
who  were  in  strong  force,  were  in  a  position  exceedingly  well 
fortified,  both  by  nature  and  art,  to  oppose  our  hitherto  tri 
umphant  progress.  On  the  highway  to  Jalapa,  about  four 
miles  from  Plan  del  Rio,  the  road  enters  a  gorge  between^ 
two  heights,  which  the  enemy  had  strongly  fortified.  About 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  further,  on  the  right-hand 'side  of  the 
road,  rises  the  steep  conical  hill  of  Cerro  Gordo,  the  key  to 
the  seemingly  impregnable  pass ;  as,  in  the  event  of  our  suc 
ceeding  in  forcing  the  other  batteries,  it,  from  its  position  and 
elevation,  commanded  both  them  and  the  intermediate  road. 
This  hill  of  Cerro  Gordo,  the  Mexicans  had  also  strongly 


174  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

9 

fortified,  and  with  the  redoubtable  Santa  Anna  commanding 
in  person,  and  a  force  supposed  to  be  at  least  fourteen  or 
fifteen  thousand  strong,  we  all  looked  for  some  rather  serious 
work,  before  luxuriating  on  the  delicious  fruits  of  Jalapa. 
To  say  that  I  felt  no  apprehension  of  personal  danger  at  the 
prospect  of  an  engagement  likely  to  prove  a  severe  one, 
would  be  ridiculous  affectation  ;  as  I  believe  no  man,  possess 
ing  a  particle  of  reflection,  ever  contemplated  a  similar  posi 
tion  with  perfect  indifference.  Be  that,  however,  as  it  may, 
it  seemed  sufficiently  evident  to  me  on  the  present  occasion, 
as  well  as  on  subsequent  ones  of  a  similar  kind,  that  on  the 
night  before  the  expected  engagement  the  camp  wore  an  air 
of  stillness  unusual  at  other  times,  the  men  generally  appear 
ing  more  thoughtful,  and  conversing  less,  and  in  more  sub 
dued  tones  than  usual. 

On  the  evening  of  the  13th,  General  Twiggs,  who,  during 
the  sickness  of  General  Patterson,  commanded  the  forces  at 
Plan  del  Rio,  after  having  spent  two  days  in  reconnoitring, 
gave  the  order  for  an  attack  on  the  enemy's  batteries,  which 
we  were  to  take  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  by  assault,  early 
next  morning.  The  bugle  having  sounded  for  the  troops  to 
assemble  a  little  before  sunset,  the  captains  of  companies 
addressed  their  men,  informing  them  of  the  General's  inten 
tion,  and  explaining  as  much  of  the  plan  of  the  meditated 
attack  as  would  tend  to  facilitate  its  execution.  They  con 
cluded  with  a  hope  that  all  would  do  their  duty  gallantly, 
and  required  us  to  give  three  cheers,  an  invitation  which 
was  very  faintly  responded  to.  The  want  of  enthusiasm  dis 
played  by  the  men,  arose,  I  am  persuaded,  from  a  want  of 
confidence  in  the  judgment  of  General  Twiggs,  and  not 
from  any  deficiency  of  the  necessary  pluck  required  for  the 
occasion.  But  that  General,  though  always  admitted  to  be 
a  brave  old  cavalry  officer,  was  considered,  from  his  pi'culia*; 


THE    COUNTERMAND.  175 

temperament,  and  previous  school  of  education  and  disci 
pline,  to  be  totally  incapable  of  successfully  directing  an 
operation  of  such  magnitude  as  the  present,  which  any  per 
son  might  easily  see  required  both  military  talent  and  skill. 
Perfectly  aware  of  tlie  enemy's  overwhelming  force,  and  the 
strong  nature  of  his  position,  and  also  <~>f  the  inconsiderate 
rashness  of  General  Twiggs  and  his  advisers,  we  felt  that  we 
were  in  danger  of  a  defeat,  or  a  victory  pin-chased  by  a  lavish 
and  useless  expenditure  of  life.  And  as  we  knew  that  General 
Scott  with  a  division  of  the  army  was  only  two  days  in  rear, 
no  one  could  perceive  the  least  necessity  for  either  of  these 
alternatives ;  from  either  of  them,  however,  we  were  fortu 
nately  saved. 

It  corning  to  the  ears  of  General  Patterson  that  an  attack 
was  ordered  next  morning,  he  immediately  resumed  the 
command  of  the  troops  by  having  his  name  erased  from  the 
sick  returns.  He  then  issued  an  order  countermanding  that 
of  General  Twiggs,  and  stating  that  all  active  operations 
against  the  enemy's  position  were  suspended  until  the  arri 
val  of  General  Scott  This  turn  of  affairs  gave  universal 
satisfaction,  as  General  Scott  deserved  and  possessed  the 
confidence  of  both  officers  and  men  in  the  highest  degree. 
We  had  received  a  pint  of  flour  each  man  for  our  next  day's 
bread,  the  biscuit  having  all  been  consumed  which  we  had 
brought  with  us ;  and  it  was  considered  better  to  make  cakes 
and  toast  thenl'  on  the  ashes,  than  to  go  without  bread  all 
next  day.  "When  the  news  of  General  Patterson's  order 
came  as  late  as  11  o'clock  at  night,  various  groups  of  anxious- 
looking  faces  might  be  seen  by  the  flickering  light  of  the 
bivouac  fire,  gloomily  watching  their  unleavened  cakes,  and 
thinking  bitterly  of  the  morrow.  The  announcement  pro 
duced  one  of  the  most  sudden  illuminations  of  the  human 
countenance  divine  among  these  groups,  which  I  ever  recol 


176  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

lect  to  have  seen ;  the  cakes  were  either  abandoned,  or 
carried  away  half  baked,  to  be  finished  at  some  other  oppor 
tunity,  and  all  retired  to  sleep,  carrying  the  news  to  their 
dreaming  comrades,  that  the  attack  was  deferred  until  Scott 
came  up. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Arrival  of  General  Scott — Ascent  of  the  ravine — The  charge — The 
loan  of  a  pipe — Colonel  Harney — General  Pillow — Bill  Crawford— 

Victory. 

Ox  the  14th  about  noon,  greatly  to  the  satisfaction  of  us  all, 
General  Scott  arrived  with  the  rear  division.  We  now  ex 
pected  that  something  would  soon  be  done,  and  all  seemed 
to  feel  a  revival  of  confidence  and  anticipations  of  success. 
The  gallant  old  General  was  loudly  cheered  on  his  arrival, 
and  without  waiting  for  rest  or  refreshment  after  his  toilsome 
march,  he  immediately  proceeded  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy's 
position.  The  result  was  the  discovery  of  a  ravine  leading  to 
the  right  of  the  enemy's  batteries,  by  which  it  was  resolved 
that  the  main  attack  should  be  made.  At  the  bottom  of  this 
ravine  was  the  celebrated  hill  of  Cerro  Gordo,  of  a  conical 
form,  and  rising  to  a  height  of  about  two  hundred  feet  from 
the  plain.  It  had  about  a  dozen  brass  guns,  of  small  calibre, 
being  principally  six  and  nine  pounders.  Bounding  the 
ravine  on  the  left,  there  was  another  hill  about  as  high  as 
Cerro  Gordo,  the  summits  of  the  two  hills  being  not  more  than 
half  a  mile  distant.  This  hill,  which  General  Scott  deter 
mined  to  possess,  was  only  covered  by  a  piquet  of  the  ene 
my,  and  could  be  easily  obtained  when  required. 

The  loth  and  16th  were  occupied  in  a  strict  scrutiny  of  the 
enemy's  works,  and  in  removing  obstacles  to  the  passage  of 
guns,  ammunition,  and  troops,  by  cutting  the  obstructing 
trees  and  bushes.  This  was  done  by  the  pioneers,  protected 


178  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

by  a  strong  skirmishing  party.  On  the  evening  of  the  16th, 
we  were  ready  for  commencing  serious  operations. 

It  was  a  beautiful  night  at  Plan  del  Rio  on  the  16th  of 
April,  1847,  and  though  on  lying  down  to  sleep  one  could 
see  the  lustrous  stars  shining  in  the  blue  canopy  over  head, 
yet  we  were  in  the  "  Tierres  calientes  "  (the  warm  country), 
and  one  can  sleep  out  of  doors  there  very  well  in  dry 
weather.  Comfort,  like  everything  else,  has  many  degrees 
of  comparison  ;  for  two  or  three  nights  previous  we  had  a 
little  more  rain  than  was  agreeable,  one  advantage  of  which 
was,  that  we  now  actually  enjoyed  a  good  night.  "  Sweet 
are  the  uses  of  adversity."  Most  of  us  therefore  slept  soundly 
until  roused  next  morning  from  our  slumbers  by  the  reveille, 
which  sounded  about  half-past  four  o'clock.  Having  taken  a 
good  breakfast  of  our  usual  camp  fare — biscuit,  beef,  and 
coffee — the  last  meal  for  many  a  poor  fellow,  we  prepared 
for  the  march  by  falling  into  our  places  in  the  ranks. 

The  division  to  which  I  belonged,  consisting  of  about  3000 
infantry,  had  orders  to  proceed  under  the  command  of  Gene 
ral  Twiggs,  to  take  possession  of  the  hill  at  the  bottom  of 
the  ravine,  and  opposite  Cerro  Gordo,  which  General  Scott 
had  previously  decided  upon  taking.  It  was  covered  by  a 
piquet  of  the  enemy  whom  we  had  orders  to  drive  in,  and 
retain  the  hill  in  possession,  as  upon  it  wras  considered  to 
depend  our  best  chance  of  success  in  our  attack  upon  Cerro 
Gordo. 

Having  stowed  away  our  knapsacks  in  the  waggons  which 
were  left  behind  in  the  camp,  with  the  other  two  divisions, 
we  began  our  march  up  the  hill.  We  expected  to  be  en 
gaged  in  a  slight  skirmish  with  the  enemy's  piquets,  but  did 
not  expect  to  get  into  the  thick  of  a  regular  engagement 
until  next  day.  Still  a  sort  of  chill  was  thrown  over  the 
spirits  of  most  of  the  men  ;  jests  which  yesterday  would  have 


ASCENT  OF  THE  RAVINE.  179 

elicited  roars  of  applausive  laughter,  somehow  seemed  to 
hang  fire  this  morning  ;  and  one  or  two  of  our  regimental 
wits  being  snubbed  by  meditative  officers  for  talking  in  the 
ranks,  gave  their  vocation  up  in  disgust,  and  became  as 
gloomy  and  as  taciturn  as  the  others.  It  was  no  great  wonder 
either  that  the  men  were  rather  more  reflective  than  usual, 
considering  that  very  few  of  our  number  had  ever  been  close  in 
front  of  an  enemy  before,  and  we  were  approaching  fortifica 
tions  which  we  should  have  to  carry  by  assault,  at  whatever 
sacrifice  of  life. 

On  corning  to  the  head  of  the  ravine,  we  were  ordered  to 
form  in  file,  trail  arms,  and  keep  perfect  silence,  the  staff  and 
field  officers  dismounting  and  leading  their  horses.  One  of 
our  men  happening  to  stumble  over  a  stone,  and  his  musket 
making  a  loud  clattering  noise  .against  his  tin  canteen,  a  cap 
tain  rushes  ujf  to  him  in  the  utmost  fury,  and  bawls  out  loud 
enough  to  be  heard  along  the  whole  line,  "You  infernal 
scoundrel,  I'll  run  you  through  if  you  don't  make  less  noise." 
As  Blunderbore,  for  that  was  a  sobriquet  the  men  had  con 
ferred  on  the  captain,  stood  flourishing  his  sword  in  a  strik 
ing  and  theatrical  attitude,  while  the  poor  fellow  seemed  ter 
rified  lest  he  should  put  his  threat  into  execution,  the  scene 
presented  such  a  ludicrous  aspect,  that  in' spite  of  our  prox 
imity  to  the  Mexican  batteries,  all  of  us  within  sight  and 
hearing  burst  into  a  hearty  and  simultaneous  laugh. 

Since  7  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  we  first  began  to 
ascend  the  hill  from  Plan  del  Rio,  we  had  only  gained  three 
or  four  miles,  and  it  was  now  past  noon.  But  we  had  moved 
very  slowly,  every  now  and  then  halting  half  an  hour 
or  so,  while  the  rifles,  as  skirmishers,  cautiously  felt  the  way 
through  the  chaparral  in  advance.  The  regiment  to  which 
I  belonged,  the  1st  Artillery,  was  at  the  head  of  the  column  ; 
wo  should  therefore  have  the  precedence  in  the  series  of  mili- 


180  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

taiy  balls  about  to  be  offered  us  by  toe  Mexicans — a  dis 
tinction  I  dare  say  not  much  valued  by  ourselves,  or  greatly 
coveted  by  others  ;  the  post  of  honour  is  sometimes  the  post 
of  danger. 

It  was  about  2  o'clock  when  we  heard  a  few  musket  shots 
in  front,  followed  by  the  sharp  crack  of  our  rifles,  who  had 
got  within  range  of  the  advanced  line  of  piquets.  We  im 
mediately  got  the  word  to  close  up,  and  move  in  quick  time 
to  the  front,  and  in  a  few  minutes  we  were  at  the  bottom  of 
the  hill  occupied  by  the  enemy.  "  First  Artillery  and  Rifles 
form  into  line,  and  charge  up  the  hill,"  was  the  word  of  com 
mand  now  given  by  General  Twiggs.  "  I  beg  pardon,  Ge 
neral,  how  far  shall  we  charge  them  ?"  I  heard  one  of  our 
captains  ask,  as  we  hastily  scrambled  up.  "  Charge  them  to 
h — 11,"  was  the  reply  of  the  rough  old  veteran,  who  remained 
with  the  rest  of  the  division  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill.  The 
balls  came  whistling  in  no  very  pleasant  manner  as  we  made 
our  way  up  the  steep  hill,  helping  ourselves  occasionally  by 
the  branches  of  the  bushes  ;  but  the  Mexicans  are  bad  shots, 
and  besides  they  were  afraid  to  expose  themselves  by  coming 
forward  to  take  deliberate  iim  ;  so  that  all  their  balls  went 
whistling  over  our  heads,  doing  us  no  damage  whatever.  In 
the  meantime  on  we  went,  shouting  and  hurrahing  as  if  we 
were  going  to  some  delightful  entertainment,  every  one  in  a 
state  of  the  highest  excitement,  and  nearly  out  of  breath 
with  hurrahing  and  running  up  the  steep  hill,  but  at  the 
same  time  disdaining  to  think  of  stopping  to  recover  it. 

Before  we  reached  the  top  of  the  hill,  which  we  did  with 
very  trifling  loss,  the  Mexicans  quickly  retreated  down  the 
opposite  side  of  it,  and  now  were  experienced  the  bad  effects 
of  General  Twiggs's  expression,  "  Charge  them  to  h — 11."  Af 
ter  obtaining  possession  of  the  hill,  our  object,  I  suspect, 
should  have  been  to  retain  it  in  possession  with  the  least 


THE    FIKE    OF    THE    MEXICANS.  181 

possible  amount  of  loss — General  Scott  having  resolved  to 
plant  two  twenty -four  pounders  on  it  during  the  night,  and 
to  open  a  fire  early  next  morning  on  the  battery  at  Cerro 
Gordo,  and  upon  that  side  of  the  hill  which  he  intended  we 
should  carry  by  assault.  The  summit  of  the  hill  is  nearly 
half  a  mile  distant  from  that  of  Cerro  Gordo,  and  they  are 
separated  by  a  deep  and  rugged  ravine.  Our  men  were  ex 
tended  about  half-a-mile  along  the  face  of  the  hill,  firing 
upon  the  retreating  Mexicans,  with  whom,  in  the  eagerness 
of  pursuit,  we  had  become  almost  mixed  up  as  we  pursued 
them  down  the  ravine.  But  when  the  enemy  had  got  half 
way  up  the  opposite  hill  of  Cerro  Gordo,  we  saw  the  error  we 
had  committed  in  pursuing  them,  being  now  caught  in  a  com 
plete  fix. 

To  attempt  to  retreat  up  the  hill  in  the  face  of  the  conti 
nuous  fire  of  some  thousands  of  Mexican  infantry,  and  that 
of  their  batteries,  who  now  opened  a  crossfire  (those  to  the 
left  sweeping  the  side  of  the  hill  with  round  shot,  and  that 
of  Gerro  Gordo  opposite  pouring  in  volleys  of  grape  and  ca 
nister),  would  have  been  instant  and  total  destruction.  We 
were  forced  to  remain  therefore  under  the  cover  of  rocks  and 
trees,  firing  an  occasional  shot  at  the  enemy  only,  who  kept 
up  an  incessant,  though  fortunately  for  us  a  very  ill-directed 
fire  until  near  sunset.  Indeed  the  loud  and  incessant  roll  of 
musketry  all  that  afternoon,  exceeded  anything  of  the  kind 
I  ever  heard.  At  length,  towards  sunset,  the  enemy  seemed 
preparing  for  a  grand  charge  ;  there  was  a  cessation  of  firing 
nearly ;  we  could  observe  their  officers  forming  their  men 
into  the  ranks,  and  with  colours  displayed,  and  a  band  of 
music  playing  in  front,  they  at  last  advanced  towards  our 
position,  which  at  that  moment  seemed  sufficiently  perilous. 
We  had  a  small  howitzer,  of  the  kind  called  mountain  how 
itzers,  from  their  peculiar  convenience  in  mountain  warfare, 


182  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

for  which  they  were  expressly  made  ;  being  light,  and  easily 
dismounted  and  carried  up  a  hill.  This  was  prepared  for 
their  reception,  being  well  loaded  with  grape,  and  we  waited 
with  some  anxiety  to  see  its  effects.  On  they  came  till  near 
the  bottom  of  the  ravine,  and  within  two  or  three  hundred 
yards  of  us,  when  the  howitzer  sent  its  murderous  contents 
among  them.  I  never  saw  such  sudden  havoc  and  confu 
sion  caused  by  a  single  shot.  It  swept  right  into  the  head 
of  the  advancing  column,  killing  and  wounding  a  great  num 
ber  of  those  in  advance,  among  others  several  of  the  band, 
who  ceased  playing  the  moment  the  shot  struck  the  column, 
which  halted  almost  instantly.  "  Arrah,  more  power  to  the 
hand  that  fired  you,  my  jewel  of  a  how-its-yure  ;  it's  your 
self  sure  that  knows  how  to  pay  the  piper  ;  that'll  make  you 
change  your  tune  any  how,  you  yellow  pagans,"  cried  Mickey 
Ryan.  The  Mexicans  were  thoroughly  taken  by  surprise  by 
this  shot,  and  had  quickly  resolved  not  to  risk  another,  for 
taking  up  their  wounded  they  immediately  began  to  retire  to 
their  former  position.  Except  a  straggling  shot  now  and 
then,  the  firing  on  both  sides  soon  ceased  ;  it  was  getting 
dusk,  and  our  men  began  to  make  their  way  to  the  main 
body  by  circling  round  the  hill.  Parties  were  now  sent  out 
to  search  for  arid  carry  in  the  wounded  ;  but  owing  to  the 
nature  of  the  ground,  and  the  darkness  of  the  night,  with  a 
share  of  culpable  neglect  on  the  part  of  those  whose  duty  it 
was  to  see  the  search  more  carefully  prosecuted,  I  am  afraid 
a  number  of  the  wounded  perished,  who  might  have  recovered 
if  they  had  been  promptly  attended  to.  I  saw  one  poor  fel 
low  brought  in  after  the  battle  next  morning,  who  had  been 
wounded  and  left  on  the  field  on  the  previous  night,  and 
who  affirmed  that  there  were  groans  of  wounded  men  in  all 
directions  round  him  during  the  night. 

I  was  witness  to  an  incident  this  afternoon  during  the  ao 


RESULTS    OF    RELIGIOUS    HATRED.  183 

tion,  which  for  the  diabolical  spirit  displayed  by  one' of  its 
actors  exceeds  anything  of  the  kind  I  ever  saw.  An  orderly 
sergeant  named  Armstrong,  having  received  a  wound  in  some 
part  of  the  body,  sat  down  seemingly  in  great  agony.  One 
of  the  men  belonging  to  his  own  company  came  over  to 
where  he  was  sitting,  and  asked  him  if  he  was  wounded  ; 
on  his  answering  that  he  was,  very  badly,  "  Arrah,  then  may 
the  devil  cure  ye,  you  black-hearted  rascal,"  was  the  unfeel 
ing  rejoinder.  The  sergeant  was  not  popular,  and  I  believe 
his  conduct  was  not  calculated  to  inspire  much  sympathy  for 
his  misfortunes  ;  but  the  wretch  who  could  thus  triumph 
in  his  physical  sufferings  and  agony,  must  have  been  a  fiend, 
and  his  conduct  was  very  severely  reprobated  and  commented 
on  by  his  comrades.  This  diabolical  spirit  was  engendered, 
by  what  is  singularly  enough  called  religious  hatred  ;  the 
sergeant  having  been  an  Orangeman,  and  the  man  addressing 
him  a  Roman  Catholic.  The  sergeant  died  on.  the  field  that 
night,  his  watch  and  a  purse  containing  some  money,  which 
lie  had  on  his  person,  were  missing,  and  there  were  several 
bayonet  wounds  in  his  body.  It  was  generally  supposed  that 
the  Mexicans  had  killed  and  plundered  him,  as  he  had  been 
left  near  their  lines  ;  but  some  did  not  hesitate  to  express 
their  suspicions  of  foul  play,  and  plainly  intimated  their 
belief  that  some  of  his  own  company  had  killed  and  robbed 
him. 

When  the  action  commenced,  as  we  were  scrambling  up 
the  hill,  and  while  the  balls  were  whistling  rather  thick  in 
our  vicinity,  I  felt  a  rather  smart  blow  on  the  right  temple. 
On  the  instant  I  imagined  I  had  received  a  quietus,  but  a 
moment's  reflection  showed  me  that  I  was  happily  mistaken. 
The  false  alarm  had  arisen  from  the  sudden  recoil  of  a 
branch  caused  by  a  man  a  pace  or  two  in  advance,  who  was 
crushing  through  the  brushwood,  a  branch  of  which  in  re- 


184  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

coiling  had  struck  me  on  the  temple.  The  impression  onl) 
lasted  for  a  second,  but  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the  singular, 
and  by  no  means  pleasant,  sensation  caused  by  this  ;  -ample 
occurrence. 

Some  men  have  blamed  General  Twiggs  for  leaving  the 
remainder  of  the  division  inactive,  while  the  small  body  sent 
to  drive  in  the  piquets  were  in  such  a  dangerous  predica 
ment  ;  but  there  I  think  he  acted  with  good  judgment. 
Had  he  engaged  the  whole  division,  he  might  have  extricated 
the  first  party,  but  assuredly  with  a  far  greater  sacrifice  of 
life.  Nothing  but  the  paucity  of  our  numbers,  paradoxical  as 
it  may  seem,  saved  us  from  a  general  slaughter  on  the 
occasion,  enabling  us  to  obtain  the  cover,  of  which  a  large 
body  could  not  have  equally  availed  themselves.  The  great 
fault  which  I,  in  common  with  all  my  comrades  with  whom 
I  have  conversed  on  the  topic,  think  he  committed,  was 
that  he  did  not  give  more  explicit  instructions  to  the  officers 
in  command  of  companies  sent  out  on  that  occasion.  Per 
haps  he  did  not  clearly  comprehend  the  instructions  he  had 
received  from  General  Scott  himself.  At  all  events  that  a 
blunder  had  been  made  was  evident,  that  it  had  cost  us 
nearly  two  hundred  men  equally  so,  but  no  one  thought  of 
General  Scott  in  connection  with  it.  General  Twiggs  has 
all  the  credit  of  the  first  day  of  the  battle  of  Cerro  Gordo. 

It  was  now  dark,  with  a  slight  rain,  and  amidst  the  groans 
of  the  suffering  wounded,  who  were  having  their  wounds 
dressed,  and  amputations  performed  until  late  at  night,  the 
most  smooth  and  soft  piece  of  turf  having  been  selected  for 
their  accommodation,  tired  and  weary,  we  lay  down  to  seek 
repose,  and  recruit  our  strength  for  the  struggle  of  next 
morning.  I  had  the  bad  fortune  to  be  on  a  piece  of  ground 
which  was  full  of  small  stones,  but  as  we  were  ordered  to 
keep  our  places  as  if  in  the  ranks,  in  case  of  a  night  attack, 


THE    LOAN    OF   A    PIPE.  185 

I  could  not  better  it  by  shifting  my  ground.  Still  I  manag~ 
ed  to  pick  up  a  considerable  number  of  them,  and  at  last  I 
found  that  it  was  somewhat  more  endurable.  There  was  not 
much  conversation  amongst  us  this  night,  but  taking  a  few 
mouthfuls  of  biscuit,  a  drink  of  water,  and  a  smoke,  we 
made  ourselves  as  comfortable  as,  under  the  circumstances, 
was  possible.  As  tending  to  show  the  effect  of  hardship 
and  danger  in  blunting  that  feeling  of  subservient  humility 
usually  shown  by  the  private  soldier  to  his  officer,  I  recollect 
an  incident  that  occurred  in  the  vicinity  of  where  I  was 
lying.  One  of  our  lieutenants  sent  a  sergeant  to  a  man  of 
the  name  of  Rielly  whom  he  saw  smoking,  with  a  request 
for  a  smoke  of  his  pipe.  "  Arrah,  sweet,  is  your  hand  in  a 
pitcher  of  honey,  my  jewel  ?"  said  Rielly  ;  "  the  lieutenant  is 
mighty  condescending.  May  be  you  would  be  pleased, 
sergeant,  to  inform  the  lieutenant,  along  with  Rielly's  com 
pliments,  that  if  he  will  wait  till  Rielly  has  his  own  smoke — 
may  the  holy  Virgin  be  near  us,  may  be  it's  the  last  smoke 
ever  the  same  Rielly  will  take — and  tell  Mickey  Ryan,  who 
axed  the  pipe  afore  him,  has  had  a  turn  of  it,  I'll  not  be  agin 
lending  him  the  pipe."  "  Faith  ye  hae  sent  the  sergeant  aff 
wi'  a  flea  in  his  lug,"  said  a  broad-spoken  countryman  of  mine 
of  the  name  of  Findlay.  "  Bad  luck  to  the  impidence  of  the 
rapscallions,  sure  it's  a  gag  they  would  be  after  putting  in 
my  mouth  in  the  place  of  a  pipe,  if  I  was  to  ask  one  of  them 
selves  for  a  loan  of  the  same  thing,"  was  the  rejoinder  of 
Teddy  Rielly. 

There  was  no  disguising  the  fact  that  we  had  an  ugly  job 
before  us  next  morning ;  but  we  had  strong  ground  for  hope- 
in  the  positive  cowardice  of  the  Mexicans,  our  own  compara 
tive  courage,  and  the  superlative  skill  of  General  Scott, 
Besides,  we  had  come  through  the  baptism  of  fire  that  day, 


186  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

and  were  still  unhurt,  and  perhaps  we  should  be  equally 
fortunate  the  next. 

During  the  night,  while  we  slept,  the  guns  (two  'twenty- 
four  pounders,  with  a  complement  of  ammunition)  had  with 
incredible  exertions  been  got  to  the  summit  of  the  hill,  and 
placed  in  position  for  opening  upon  Cerro  Gordo  next  morn 
ing.  A  temporary  breastwork  of  stones  and  earth,  capable 
of  affording  considerable  protection  to  the  men  who  would 
work  them,  had  also  been  thrown  up.  I  slept  most  uneasily 
all  night,  being  cold  and  sore  with  lying  on  the  stones; 
we  had  left  our  blankets  and  great-coats  in  the  baggage 
waggons,  and  it  had  rained  a  little.  I  was  not  sorry  there 
fore  that  when  day  broke,  we  immediately  fell  into  the 
ranks,  and  began  to  ascend  the  hill.  Motion  is  highly  desir 
able  to  promote  circulation  and  supple  the  joints  after  a 
rather  cold  night  on  the  ground,  (as  I  frequently  had  an 
opportunity  of  remarking  while  in  Mexico,)  and  before  we 
were  half  way  up  the  hill  I  began  to  feel  rather  more  com 
fortable.  As  we  marched  by  a  circuitous  path,  some  of  us 
turned  occasionally  to  admire  the  appearance  of  the  sky, 
which  was  tinted  with  a  surpassing  brilliance  by  the  rising 
sun,  while  spread  out  beneath  us,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  was  some  of  the  most  picturesque  and  romantic 
scenery  imaginable.  But  we  were  soon  recalled  to  another 
sort  of  contemplation.  A  shot  from  the  enemy's  batteries, 
who  had  now  caught  a  glimpse  of  us,  followed  by  another 
and  another  in  quick  succession,  soon  dispelled  any  disposi 
tion  to  sentimentalize  which  we  might  have  previously 
entertained.  And  having  been  cautioned  to  close  up  and 
quicken  our  steps,  in  a  few  minutes  we  gained  the  position 
we  were  to  occupy,  until  the  signal  should  be  given  for  the 
charge. 


f 

THE    CRISIS    OF    THE    ACTION.  187 

There  was  a  slight  hollow  in  the  top  of  the  hill  near 
where  our  twenty-four  pounders  were  placed,  and  opposite 
Cerro  Gordo  ;  this  was  the  position  we  ought  to  have  main 
tained  on  the  previous  afternoon  in  place  of  following*  the 
Mexicans  so  rashly.  In  this  hollow  the  rifles,  a  regiment  of 
infantry,  and  our  regiment,  were  ordered  to  lie  down  on  the 
grass,  in  which  position  we  were  completely  sheltered  from 
the  fire  of  the  enemy's  batteries.  While  lying  thus,  we  could 
watch  the  effects  of  the  grape  shot  passing  a  few  feet  above 
us,  with  its  peculiar  harsh  and  bitter  whistle,  to  the  opposite 
bank,  where  the  saplings  and  branches  crashed,  under  the 
withering  influence  of  these  unseen  messengers,  as  if  by 
magic.  But  soon  our  24-pounders  opened  on  the  Mexicans 
with  most  terrible  effect,  as  they  were  in  a  dense  mass  on  the 
top  of  the  opposite  hill,  where  some  thousands  of  infantry 
were  crowded,  to  repel  our  anticipated  assault.  We  now 
received  orders  to  prepare  for  a  charge.  While  the  rifles 
were  forming  in  the  bottom  of  the  hollow,  one  end  of  their 
line  had  incautiously  gone  a  little  way  up  on  the  opposite 
bank,  or  side  of  the  hill.  A  shower  of  grape,  that  killed  and 
wounded  at  least  a  dozen  of  their  number,  was  the  result  of 
this  exposure,  and  a  volley  of  oaths  from  Colonel  Harney,  at 
the  stupidity  of  the  officer  who  had  formed  them  in  that 
position,  seemed  to  grate  as  harshly  on  one's  ears  as  the  mis 
siles  showering  over  us. 

While  this  was  going  on,  a  division  of  volunteers  under 
General  Pillowr,  had  assaulted  the  batteries  on  our  left,  but 
were  repulsed  with  considerable  loss,  General  Shields  being 
amongst  the  severely  wounded.  The  moment  had  now 
arrived  when  we  were  to  face  the  horizontal  shower  which 
for  the  last  hour  and  a  half  had  been  flying  almost  harmless 
over  us.  But  the  twenty-four  pounders  had  done  wonders, 
und  Cerro  Gordo  was  getting  rather  thinned  of  infantry  by 


UNIVERSITY 


188  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

the  panic  created  by  their  deadly  discharges.  The  aclivily 
of  the  Mexican  artillery  was  also  rather  slackened,  they  v.ere 
evidently  getting  paralysed,  and  discouraged,  at  seeing  {],<• 
effects  of  our  shots.  Now  was  the  time  for  the  charg*-,  and 
pausing  for  a  few  breathless  moments  till  the  next  shower  of 
grape  hurtled  over  us,  the  bugle  sounded  the  charge,  and 
with  a  loud  hurrah  we  leaped  and  tumbled  down  the  ravine, 
opposite  the  enemy's  battery  of  Cerro  Gordo. 

A  brisk  fire  of  infantry  opened  upon  us  as  we  deseendrd, 
and  a  few  of  our  number  dropped  by  the  way ;  but  wo  were, 
in  too  great  a  hurry  to  stay  and  assist,  or  sympathize  with 
wounded  men  just  at  that  time.  Bill  Crawford,  a  Scotchman, 
and  an  old  British  soldier,  with  whom  I  had  become 
acquainted  at  Vcra  Cruz,  was  going  down  the  hill  with  me ; 
we  were  within  a  few  yards  of  each  other,  when  recognising 
me  he  called  out,  "Ha!  Geordie  man,  hoo  are  ye  this  morn 
ing,  this  is  gey  hot  wark,  how  d'ye  like  this  !  Faith,  Geor 
die  ;  I  doubt  they've  hit  me,"  he  continued,  as  he  sat  down 
behind  a  rock,  a  musket  ball  having  entered  the  calf  of  his 
leg.  I  asked  him  if  he  was  badly  hurt.  "  I've  gotten  a  scart 
that'll  keep  me  frae  gaun  on  ;  but  gudesake,  man,  dinna  mind 
me,  I've  shelter  here ;  an  I  ken  ye'll  no  like  to  be  the  last  o' 
gaun  up  the  hill."  I  had  just  jumped  down  four  or  five  feet, 
wrhen  a  rattle  of  grape  that  splintered  a  ledge  of  rock  where 
I  had  stood  while  talking  to  Bill,  showed  me  the  danger  of 
delay.  "Ah,  Geordie,  a  miss  is  as  gude  as  a  mile;  gude 
bye,  tak  tent  o'  yoursel ;  tell  our  folk  where  I'm  sitting,  when 
it'a  ower,"  cried  the  hearty  old  fellowr,  who  had  come  through 
the  Peninsula  and  Waterloo,  unhurt,  to  be  wounded  in  this 
shabby  affair,  as  I  afterwards  heard  him  express  himself.  It 
was  not  long  before  I  reached  the  bottom  of  the  hill. 

On  arriving  there,  both  men  and  officers  paused,  but  only 
for  a  few  seconds,  to  recover  breath.  Here,  feeling  my  havre 


Tliii    VICTORY.  189 

sac,  containing  biscuit  and  other  articles,  an  incumbrance,  I 
took  it  oft'  and  threw  it  down  at  the  foot  of  a  large  rock, 
intending  to  call  again  for  it  if  I  could  find  an  opportunity 
after  the  action.  AYe  then  began  to  climb  the  hill,  which 
was  very  steep,  but  being  rocky,  and  covered  with  brushwood 
for  about  two-thirds  of  the  way,  the  enemy's  musket  balls 
passed  quite  harmlessly  over  us  until  near  the  top.  When 
we  arrived  at  the  summit,  a  hundred  or  two  of  the  Mexican 
infantry  posted  behind  a  breastwork  of  large  stones,  checked 
our  advance  for  three  or  four  minutes,  until  seeing  us  rein 
forced  by  a  number  of  infantry  coming  up  the  hill  cheering, 
they  threw  their  muskets  down,  and  scampered  in  the  utmost 
confusion  down  the  opposite  side  of  the  hill.  Several  of  the 
enemy's  guns  were  now  manned,  and  fired  on  the  retreating 
enemy,  a  disordered  mass,  running  with  panic  speed  down 
the  hill,  and  along  the  road  to  Jalapa.  The  battle  was  now 
won  ;  the  other  two  forts,  that  a  short  time  before  had  re 
pulsed  the  volunteers,  seeing  the  fate  of  Cerro  Gordo,  imme 
diately  pulled  down  their  flag  and  hoisted  a  white  one. 
They  made  an  unconditional  surrender,  and  the  garrisons 
were  marched  out  of  the  batteries  to  the  road,  without  arms, 
to  the  amount  of  about  8000  ;  they  were  employed  to  dig 
pits  for  the  interment  of  the  dead,  and  were  afterwards  per 
mitted  to  go  to  their  homes,  on  promising  not  to  take  up 
arms  against  the  United  States  during  the  existing  war. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

• 

After  the  battle — The  wounded — Mexican  surgeons — The  litter  of 
dead — An  unexpected  regale. 

GENERAL  SCOTT  was  much  censured  by  the  men  for  releasing 
the  prisoners  taken  at  Cerro  Gorclo  on  the  terms  he  did.  It 
was  argued  that  though  he  had  no  provisions,  yet  the  road 
being  open  to  Vera  Cruz,  a  few  hundred  dragoons  might 
have  marched  them  back  to  that  garrison,  where  supplies 
were  plentiful,  while  the  garrison  left  there  would  have  been 
quite  adequate  to  take  charge  of  the  prisoners.  It  certainly 
did  seem  rather  questionable  policy,  as  whatever  were  the 
faults  of  the  Mexicans  as  soldiers,  they  were  tolerable  artille 
rists,  and  when  inside  of  one  of  their  formidable  batteries, 
the  only  position  seemingly  in  which  they  would  fight,  they 
did  us  a  good  deal  of  damage  before  we  succeeded  in  dis 
lodging  them.  ]STow  if  he  had  kept  these  prisoners,  it  was 
evident  that  they  would  either  have  had  to  man  their  batte 
ries  with  inferior  men,  in  which  case  our  army  would  have 
suffered  less  in  the  subsequent  engagements;  or  wanting  the 
assistance  of  those  prisoners  they  might  have  been  more 
inclined  to  come  to  terms.  The  letting  them  go,  however," 
was  not  disapproved  of  by  the  Government,  though  among 
the  soldiers  of  our  regiment  it  was  generally  condemned 
when  talking  over  the  policy  of  the  campaign. 

We  had  now'  leisure  to  reflect  upon  our  good  fortune  in 
having  succeeded  so  much  more  easily  than  we  anticipated 
in  our  hazardous  assault,  and  I  thought  I  perceived  a  moisture 


GENERAL    SCOTT.  191 

glistening  in  the  eyes,  and  an  unusual  tremor  affecting  the 
voice  of  many  brave  soldiers,  as  they  shook  handS  and  con 
gratulated  each  other  on  their  mutual  safety.  Shortly  after 
wards  General  Scott  with  a  few  of  his  staff  came  riding  up, 
and  shaking  hands  \vitli  all  who  approached,  congratulated 
them  warmly  on  the  victory.  A  number  of  the  men  and  offi 
cers  having  crowded  round  him,  he  made  a  short  and  affecting 
speech,  as  near  as  I  can  recollect  in  the  following  words  : 
— "Brother  soldiers,  I  am  proud  to  call  you  brothers,  and 
your  country  will  be  proud  to  hear  of  your  conduct  this  day. 
Our  victory  has  cost  us  the  lives  of  a  number  of  brave  men, 
but  they  died  righting  for  the  honour  of  their  country. 
Soldiers,  you  have  a  claim  on  my  gratitude  for  your  conduct 
this  day,  which  I  will  never  forget."  During  the  delivery  of 
this  short  address  he  was  on  horseback,  and  held  his  hat  in 
his  hand.  He  was  very  much  affected,  and  tears  rolled  over 
'the  furrowed  cheeks  of  the  majestic  old  hero,  the  sight  of  , 
which  caused  sympathetic  drops  to  start  to  the  eyes  of 
many  a  rough  and  weather-beaten  countenance,  "  albeit  un 
used  to  the  melting  mood."  At  the  conclusion,  he  was 
enthusiastically  cheered,  when  he  slowly  rode  off,  bowing, 
and  waving  his  hat.  / 

Parties  of  the  men  were  now  despatched  in  all  directions, 
to  search  for  and  bring  in  the  wounded.  A  number  of  the 
men  also  set  out  in  small  parties  to  explore  for  wrater ;  as 
the  morning  being  very  hot,  most  of  the  men  were  suffering 
exceedingly  from  thirst.  The  wounded  as  they  were  brought 
in  were  attended  to  as  well  as  under  the  circumstances  could 
be  expected,  amputations  being  performed,  and  the  most 
urgent  and  dangerous  cases  attended  to  first.  One  or  two 
Mexican  surgeons  also  made  their  appearance,  and  proceeded 
with  much  apparent  skill  to  dress  and  bandage  the  wounds 
of  their  unfortunate  countrymen,  in  which  they  were  assisted 


192  ADVKNIUPxKS    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

by  our  surgeons,  after  they  had  dressed  all  their  own 
wounded.  *  These  Mexican  surgeons  are  reputed  to  be  very 
skilful  in  the  treatment  of  wounds,  which  seems  likely 
enough  ;  as  there  is  probably  no  country  in  the  world,  if  we 
except  Texas,  or  California,  where  so  large  an  amount  of 
practice  may  be  found  in  curing  wounds  of  all  the  shooting 
and  stabbing  varieties.  Be  that  as  it  may,  however,  it  was 
currently  reported  that  General  Shields  owed  his  life  to  the 
skill  and  care  of  a  Mexican  surgeon,  who  undertook  and 
completed  his  cure  after  his  wround  had  been  pronounced 
mortal  by  those  of  our  surgeons  who  examined  it.  Our 
wounded  being  supplied  with  blankets,  and  a  sufficient  num 
ber  of  men  being  appointed  to  attend  on  them,  they  were 
placed  under  a  temporary  shed  which  at  least  screened  them 
from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun.  Next  day  they  were 
removed  to  Jalapa,  where  a  large  convent  near  the  Plaza  was 
appropriated  to  their  use  as»  a  hospital. 

In  this  engagement  the  American  loss  was  between  500 
and  GOO  in  killed  and  wrounded,  and  the  Mexicans  lost" pro 
bably  fully  as  many.  Between  200  and  300  bodies  of  dead 
Mexicans  were  collected  on  the  field,  principally  on  the  hill 
of  Cerro  Gordo,  and  a  great  many  wTere  killed  by  our  dra 
goons  and  light  artillery,  who  pursued  them  on  the  Jalapa 
road.  Some  of  our  men  obtained  considerable  sums  of 
money  after  the  battle  was  over,  by  searching  the  clothes  of 
the  dead ;  but  though  the  practice  may  be  in  accordance 
with  the  usages  of  war,  there  always  seemed  something  so 
revolting  to  the  feelings  in  it,  that  I  could  never  think  of 
trying  that  'mode  of  recruiting  my  finances,  though  suffering 
a  little  sometimes  from  a  deficiency  of  the  exchequer.  Nei 
ther  was  I  the  least  singular  in  this  respect,  as  I  learned 
afterwards ;  the  feeling  being  quite  general  amongst  the 
men,  more  especially  amongst  the  Irish,  who  had  a  supersti- 


THE    MEXICAN    DEAD.  193 

tious  horror  at  the  idea  of  rifling  a  dead  body,  believing  that 
it  would  be  sure  to  call  down  a  judgment  on* those  who 
would  do  it,  in  a  future  engagement. 

Several  bodies  of  Mexican  officers  who  had  been  killed 
while  defending  the  hill,  lay  here,  one  of  which  was  said  to 
be  that  of  a  General  who  had  been  allowed  to  go  on  parole 
with  the  rest  of  the  garrison  from  Vera  Cruz  when  it  capitu 
lated.  He  was  near  the  stockades,  as  if  he  had  fallen  while 
in  advanced  position,  encouraging  the  soldiers  by  his  exam 
ple.  One  of  our  men  had  taken  off  his  boots  ;  the  scoundrel, 
I  am  sure,  would  not  be  'able  to  wear  them,  as  the  officer's 
feet,  on  which  he  had  fine  white  stockings,  were  remarkably 
small.  His  hands  too  were  very  small  and  delicately  formed, 
so  much  so  as  to  cause  remark  by  almost  all  who  looked  at 
the  bodv.  He  was  an  old  grey-headed  man,  seemingly 
about  sixty  year.s  of  age,  of  a  rather  slight  though  active 
make  ;  and  there  wras  something  noble  in  the  expression  of 
his  countenance,  which  wras  calm  and  placid,  as  if  he  had 
died  without  pain%  He  was  wounded  with  musket  balls  in 
two  or  three  places  of  the  body,  and  as  he  lay  "  with  his 
face  to  the  sky,  and  his  feet  to  the  foe,"  I  could  not  help 
feeling  a  mingled  thrill  of  admiration  and  pity  at  the  fate  of 
the  brave  old  hero. 

There  was  another  Mexican  officer  breathing  his  last,  near 
a  small  stone  building  which  the  Mexicans  had  used  for  a 
magazine,  and  on  which  they  had  a  flag  when  we  carried  the 
hill.  He  was  wounded  in  the  breast  Avith  a  musket-shot, 
and  blood  was  oozing  from  his  mouth.  He  was  a  large, 
stout-bodied  man,  and  from  the  indications  of  Indian  blood 
in  his  colour  was  evidently  a  Mexican,  and  not  a  pure  Casti- 
lian  like  the  other.  A  letter  taken  from  his  pocket  contained 
his  commission,  dated  only  a  few  wreeks  before,  and  signed 
by  Santa-Anna,  by  which  it  appeared  that  he  was  Diego 

0 


194  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

Martinez,  Capitan  de  Infantcria.  lie  wore  a  gold  chain 
about  his  neck,  to  which  was  attached  a  miniature  picture 
of  a  very  fine-looking  child ;  we  could  trace  no  resemblance 
in  the  child's  countenance  to  his,  but  then  his  features  were 
distorted  by  pain.  Poor  fellow,  if  many  of  the  Mexican 
officers  had  imitated  his  example,  I  believe  we  should  not 
have  won  the  battle  of  Cerro  Gordo  so  easily. 

"We  now  began  to  suffer  from  the  cravings  of  hunger  and 
thirst ;  few  of  the  men  had  eaten  anything  that  morning,  in 
fact  many  of  them  had  nothing  to  eat,  and  water  could  not 
be  obtained  even  for  the  wounded,  who  felt  a  perpetual  crav 
ing  for  it.  I  was  therefore  very  glad  when  the  adjutant 
coming  up  to  where  a  group  of  us  were  standing,  asked  me 
if  I  thought  I  could  find  my  way  to  where  we  had  bivouacked 
on  the  previous  night.  It  occurred  to  me  that  this  would 
be  a  good  chance  to  find  some  water;  on  my  way  I  should 
also  pass  where  I  had  left  my  Lavresac  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill,  and  where  Bill  Crawford  was  wounded,  and  1  should 
see  whether  he  had  been  taken  care  of.  I  therefore  told 
him  I  could  find  my  way  there  easily.  He  then  gave  me  a 
message  to  his  servant,  whom  he  had  left  behind  with  two 
horses  in  charge,  his  own  and  the  colonel's,  directing  him  to 
bring  them  round  by  the  village,  and  wait  with  them  at  the 
bottom  of  the  hill,  as  the  regiment  would  march  down  in  a 
short  time.  I  started  on  my  mission,  and  had  little  difficulty 
in  finding  my  havresac ;  it  lay  in  the  position  in  which  I 
had  left;  it,  nearly  covered  up  with  the  long  grass.  I  was 
very  glad  to  see  it,  and  picking  it  up  I  threw  it  over  my 
shoulders,  and  pursued  my  journey.  I  soon  came  to  the 
place  where  Crawford  was  wounded,  but  he  was  not  there, 
so  I  was  satisfied  that  he  had  been  taken  care  of.  I  passed 
the  dead  bodies  of  a  great  many  who  had  been  killed  the 
day  before,  both  Americans  and  Mexicans,  though  princi- 


SEASONABLE    REFRESHMENT.  195 

pally  the  latter.  They  presented  a  shocking  spectacle  ;  these 
ghastly  corpses  but  yesterday  were  as  full  of  life  and  anima 
tion  as  I  was  at  that  moment,  and  now  there  they  lay  with 
their  features  distorted  and  blackening  in  the  sun.  I  felt  a 
sickening  loathing  at  the  idea  of  these  human  sacrifices, 
these  offerings  to  Mars,  which  the  poet  and  the  historian 
dignify  with  the  titles  of  glorious  victories,  and  I  cursed  in 
my  heart  the  infatuation  which  had  linked  me  to  the  inhu 
man  profession  of  a  soldier. 

I  soon  found  the  groom  of  the  horses ;  he  was  an  old  grey 
headed  man,  a  countryman  of  mine,  named  David  Gourley, 
and  one  of  the  finest  old  fellows  in  the  regiment.  After 
communicating  my  message,  I  got  an  invitation  from  him  to 
take  a  little  breakfast  before  starting,  and  I  could  have  the 
adjutant's  horse,  he  said,  to  ride  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill. 
I  very  gladly  accepted  both  of  these  offers,  feeling  tired  and 
faint ;  the  excitement  of  the  previous  afternoon  and  that 
morning,  with  hunger  and  thirst,  made  me  feel  a  strong 
inclination  to  lie  down  under  a  tree  and  enjoy  a  sound  sleep. 
Observing  my  appearance  of  weariness,  Gourley  pulled  out 
a  flask  from  his  havresac,  which,  having  tasted,  he  handed 
to  me,  recommending  it  as  a  sovereign  cure  for  lowness  of 
spirits.  I  took  a  mouthful  or  two  from  the  llask,  which  I 
found  contained  some  excellent  brandy,  and  felt  immediate 
benefit  from  the  invigorating  cordial.  "  Ay,  ay,"  said  Gour 
ley,  as  I  handed  it  back  to  him,  "  ye'll  come  roun'  bye  and 
bye ;  Lord,  man,  ye  glowred  as  if  ye  had  seen  a  warlock  a 
wee  sin' ;  faith  a  mouthfu'  o'  that  might  be  excused  to  a 
teetotaller  on  a  morning  like  this.  An'  hoo  did  ye  like  ye'r 
race  up  the  hill  this  morning,  Geordie  ?"  he  continued ;  "  faith, 
there's  mony  a  braw  fallow  that'll  never  turn  up  a  wee  finger 
again,  that  got  up  this  morning  as  well  as  you  or  I."  I  told 
him  of  several  men  who  were  killed  and  wounded  whom  he 


196  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

knew,  and  mentioned  Billy  Crawford.  He  said  he  had  seen 
him  ;  that  he  had  got  his  leg  dressed,  and  had  been  conveyed 
along  with  some  others  of  the  wounded  to  Plan  del  Rio, 
Having  displayed  his  provisions,  which  consisted  of  some 
biscuit,  and  a  few  slices  of  fried  beef,  to  which  was  added 
the  luxury  of  a  canteen  of  good  water,  I  assisted  my  honest 
old  friend  to  dispatch  a  most  excellent  breakfast,  and  having 
taken  another  mouthful  of  brandy,  I  felt  like  a  new  being. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Santa  Anna's  leg — Distribution  of  spirits — Colonel  Childs — Interring 
the  dead — March  to  Jalapa. 

MOUNTING  the  horses,  we  proceeded  down  the  ravine  to  a 
small  village  on  the  road  to  Jalapa,  and  about  a  mile  from 
Cerro  Gordo.  This  was  the  place  where  Santa  Anna  had  his 
head-quarters  for  several  days  previous  to  the  action.  The 
Mexicans  say  he  was  the  cause  of  their  disgraceful  conduct 
on  that  occasion  ;  as  he  left  precipitately  an  hour  before  the 
storming  of  Cerro  Gordo,  by  his  example  so  discouraging 
the  officers  and  men — that  they  soon  after  broke  and  ran, 
believing  the  battle  lost — when  they  heard  that  he  had  gone. 
It  was  commonly  said  and  believed  by  our  men,  that  in  his 
hurry  to  be  off  he  had  left  his  wooden  leg  behind,  and  that 
it  was  preserved  and  sent  home  to  the  States  as  a  trophy. 
As  Santa  Anna  wears  a  cork  leg,  I  think  it  is  probable  that 
the  wooden  leg  found  there  must  have  belonged  to  some  less 
•illustrious  personage.  But  the  story  was  turned  to  good  ac 
count  by  several  enterprising  Yankees,  who  for  some  months 
after  continued  to  exhibit  veritable  wooden  legs  of  "  Santa 
Anna  "  through  the  towns  and  cities  of  the  States,  with  great 
success,  making  a  pretty  considerable  speculation  of  it.  A 
more  important  prize  consisted  of  several  chests,  or  boxes, 
containing  upwards  of  a  hundred  thousand  silver  dollars. 
One  of  the  soldiers  who  first  discovered  it,  had  succeeded  in 
breaking  open  one  of  the  chests,  and  a  few  of  the  first  comers 
had  helped  themselves  to  a  pocketful,  when  an  officer  hap 


198  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

pcned  to  arrive,  who  put  a  stop  to  further  proceedings,  by 
placing  it  under  a  secure  guard,  and  reporting  the  seizure  to 
General  Scott. 

On  arriving  at  the  village,  we  found  it  full  of  our  infantry, 
our  whole  army  nearly  being  drawn  up  in  column,  waiting 
the  order  to  march.  The  Mexican  troops  having  left  their 
provisions  behind,  most  of  our-  men  got  some  refreshment 
here,  of  which  the  poor  fellows  stood  much  in  need.  But  a 
number  of  the  small  shops  in  the  village  having  been  sup 
plied  with  aquadiente,  for  the  purpose  of  retailing  it  to  the 
soldiers  of  the  Mexican  army,  there  was  a  danger  of  our  men 
getting  drunk.  To  prevent  this,  the  aquadiente  was  very 
properly  ordered  to  be  spilt,  and  I  saw  several  barrels  of  it 
emptied  upon  the  road,  an  officer  standing  by  to  see  it  eftec- 
.tually  done.  We  also  passed  some  companies  where  the 
officers  were  superintending  the  distribution  of  a  portion  of 
it,  by  seeing  the  sergeant  serve  the  men  with  a  glass  of  it  in 
succession  ;  this  was  a  most  judicious  proceeding,  which  I 
am  sure  the  men  would  appreciate.  If  officers  were  more 
generally  aware  what  a  large  return  of  popularity  they  might 
secure  among  their  men  by  ministering  to  the  wants  and 
comfort  of  those  under  their  charge,  I  believe  it  would  do 
much  towards  improving  the  condition  of  the  army. 

But  in  spite  of  every  precaution,  a  number  of  the  men  I 
could  see  had  got  their  canteens  filled  with  the  liquor,  which 
had  cost  them  nothing ;  all  the  houses  in  the  village 
being  robbed  of  their  supplies  of  provisions  and  liquor  in  a 
very  short  time.  A  jolly  fellow,  belonging  to  an  infantry 
regiment,  came  up  to  Gourley  and  me,  and  asked  if  we 
would  drink  the  health  of  General  Scott,  handing  us  his 
canteen,  which  wTas  full  of  aquadiente.  We  tasted  his  liquor, 
which  was  very  fiery  and  unpalatable,  when  he  very  gene 
rously  gave  us  a  few  tortillas,  thin  cakes  made  of  Indian  corn 


A    FEMALE    FOUXD    AMONG    TIIE    DEAD.  199 

menl,  and  a  piece  of  cheese,  of  which  commodities  he  had  a 
havresac  nearly  full.  He  advised  us  to  dismount  and  have 
our  canteens  filled  with  the  aquadiente,  offering  to  show  us 
whore  we  could  get  it ;  but  not  wishing  to  quit  our  horses, 
for  fear  of  losing  them  in  the  crowd,  and  the  liquor,  to  judge 
from  the  specimen  we  had  just  tasted,  not  being  very  palata 
ble,  we  declined  his  invitation. 

After  leaving  the  village,  and  as  we  passed  on  to  the  bot 
tom  of  the  hili  of  Cerro  Gordo,  we  found  the  road  strewed 
with  the  muskets  and  bayonets  which  the  Mexicans  had 
thrown  away  in  their  hasty  retreat.  These  muskets  were  all 
of  British  manufacture,  and  had  the  Tower  mark  on  their 
locks ;  but  they  were  old  and  worn  out,  having  evidently 
been  condemned  as  unserviceable  in  the  British  army,  and 
then  sold  to  the  Mexicans  at  a  low  price.  Undoubtedly  they 
were  good  enough  for  soldiers  like  the  Mexicans,  who  gene 
rally  throw  them  away  on  their  retreat,  but  after  examining 
a  few  of  them  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  for  efficient  ser 
vice  one  of  our  muskets  was  equal  to  at  least  three  of  them. 
Some  thousands  of  these  muskets  were  collected  and  de 
stroyed,  and  the  guns  taken  at  the  different  forts  were  also 
burst  and  rendered  unfit  for  use,  by  the  men  left  behind  for 
that  purpose  under  the  direction  of  an  engineer  officer.  A 
great  number  of  dead  Mexicans,  whose  bodies  had  been  col 
lected  for  the  purpose  of  interment,  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the 
hill.  Among  these  we  observed  the  body  of  a  young  and 
handsome  though  coarsely  attired  female,  apparently  not 
more  than  eighteen  years  of  age.  She  had  been  the  wrife  of 
one  of  the  soldiers,  and  had  stayed  with  him  during  the  ac 
tion.  Perhaps  they  were  newly  married,  and  had  been  spend 
ing  their  honeymoon  amid  the  horrid  din  of  war.  One 
could  scarcely  help  wondering  which  among  that  group  of 
ghastly  corpses  had  been  her  husband.  For  among  them  he 


200  ADVENTURES    0-;     A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

must  be  ;  it  were  impossible  to  picture  him  flying  on  the 
road  to  Jalapa,  and  leaving  behind  the  bleeding  corpse  of 
«Jiis  young  and  beautiful  bride.  The  wives  of  the  Mexican 
soldiers  are  in  the  habit  of  following  the  army,  and  sharing 
in  -the  fatigues  and  dangers  of  a  campaign,  and  there  were 
several  of  them  among  the  killed  and  wounded,  both  at  this 
and  at  subsequent  engagements.  I  was  told  of  one  woman 
who  was  wounded  in  the  leg  at  this  battle,  who  displayed  a 
great  deal  of  reluctance  in  allowing  our  surgeon  to  examine 
and  dress  the  wound,  though  such  extreme  feelings  of  mo 
desty,  I  am  bound  to  acknowledge,  are  exceedingly  rare 
among  the  women  of  the  lower  classes  in  Mexico. 

Leaving  Gourley  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill  with  the  horses, 
I  now  proceeded  to  inform  the  adjutant  that  I  had  performed 
my  mission.  I  found  him  seated  on  the  ground,  with  Colonel 
Childs  and  several  of  the  officers,  and  was  proceeding  to 
make  my  statement,  when  the  colonel,  interrupting  me,  ex 
claimed,  "  But  where  are  the  horses  ?"  I  told  him  I  had  got 
instructions  from  the  adjutant  to  leave  them  at  the  bottom 
of  the  hill.  The  adjutant  confirmed  my  statement,  and  ap 
peared  to  think  I  had  done  very  well ;  but  still  the  colonel 
continued  to  mutter  his  dissatisfaction  at  my  having  obeyed 
the  instructions  too  literally.  I  inwardly  smiled  at  the  un 
reasonable  humour  of  the  colonel,  but  at  times  like  the  pre 
sent,  when  human  life  seems  of  about  as  much  value  as  an 
old  shoe,  the  humours  of  your  big  men  seem  mere  trivialities  ; 
and  luckily  for  my  equanimity,  just  at  that  time,  I  felt  a  most 
sovereign  contempt  for  the  good  or  bad  opinion  of  breathing 
mortal,  myself  excepted.  Besides  having  satisfactorily 
obeyed  my  instructions,  I  Lad  made  an  excellent  breakfast, 
and  found  my  havresac.  With  these  results  *I  felt  very 
well  satisfied ;  and  if  the  colonel  was  not  pleased,  why,  he 
might  whistle  on^his  thumb. 


UNCLEANLINESS    OF    THE    MEXICANS.  201 

About  two  or  three  o'clock  our  regiment  was  directed  to 
join  the  main  body  of  the  army,  which  had  received  orders 
to  proceed  towards  Jalapa.  According  to  instructions,  one 
company  of  our  regiment  was  left  to  assist  in  the  interment 
of  the  dead,  and  the  destruction  of  the  guns  and  ammuni 
tion  not  considered  requisite  for  the  use  of  our  own  army. 
The  regiment  then  descended  the  hill  of  Cerro  Gordo,  and 
having  taken  its  place  in  the  column,  we  were  soon  marching 
along  the  highway  to  Jalapa.  A  great  quantity  of  clothing 
abandoned  by  the  Mexicans  strewed  the  road,  and  as  many  of 
our  men  had  neither  great-coat  nor  blanket,  having  left 
them  in  the  baggage  waggons  at  Plan  del  Rio,  they  eagerly 
appropriated  those  which  the  Mexicans  had  thrown  away. 
But  they  soon  discovered  that  they  had  made  a  most  misera 
ble  prize,  few  or  none  of  these  clothes  being  wholly  free 
from  a  tormenting  and  disgusting  species  of  vermin  to  which 
the  Mexicans  seem  universally  accustomed  and  reconciled. 
Most  of  the  men,  on  discovering  the  condition  of  these 
clothes,  threw  them  away,  but  a  number  retained  possession 
of  some  of  them;  and  from 'that  period  until  after  we  entered 
the  city  of  Mexico,  even  those  most  scrupulously  attentive 
to  personal  cleanliness  could  not  wholly  divest  themselves 
from  that  most  annoying  and  detestable  of  the  plagues  of 
Egypt.  After  entering  the  city,  we  were  supplied  with  new 
clothing,  and  being  in  tolerable  quarters,  and  furnished  with 
a  plentiful  supply  of  soap  and  clean  water,  we  succeeded 
after  a  time  in  eradicating  the  abominable  pest.  We  only 
marched  about  eight  miles  that  evening,  bivouacking  on  the 
grass  plats  that  stretched  alorg  on  each  side  of  the  road.  A 
small  stream  of  clear  water  which  the  Mexicans  had  con 
ducted  a  distance  of  ten  miles,  by  cutting  a  channel  for  it 
along  the  edge  of  the  road,  to  supply  the  garrison  at  Cerro 

9* 


202  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

Gordo,  supplied  our  evening  beverage,  and  as  we  were  tired 
with  the  excitement  and  fatigues  of  the  day,  we  were  soon 
folded  in  the  arms  of  Morpheus. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Santa  Anna's  house — Aspect  of  the  country — The  ladies  of  Jalapa— « 
A  Mexican  funeral — Description  of  the  city — The  priesthood — • 
Procession  of  the  Host — Paying  the  troops. 

ROUSED  from  our  sound  slumbers  by  the  bugle  at  daybreak 
next  morning,  we  were  soon  on  our  march  again  for  Jalapa. 
After  marching  a  few  miles  we  came  to  Encerro,  the  favour 
ite  residence  of  Santa  Anna,  who  owns  a  large  and  fertile 
tract  in  that  neighbourhood.  The  house  in  which  he  had 
formerly  lived — called  by  our  men  Santa  Anna's  House — 
is  a  large  plain  building  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  about  a  nrile 
from  the  road,  and  on  the  left  hand  going  to  Jalapa.  Its 
situation  is  admirable,  the  view  of  the  surrounding  country 
being  of  the  most  delightful  character,  wooded  mountains 
and  grassy  plain  stretching  away  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach. 
But  water,  that  principal  auxiliary  to  fine  landscape  scenery, 
it  lacks  in  common  with  most  Mexican  scenery.  True,  a 
rivulet  crosses  the  highway  at  Encerro  about  the  size  of  a 
Scotch  burn,  which  leaps  and  tumbles  in  a  series  of  sparkling 
cascades  down  a  romantic  and  deep  rocky  glen  on  the  right 
hand  ;  but  any  rivulet  or  sheet  of  water  large  enough  to  give 
a  tone  to  the  extended  landscape,  one  may  look  for  in  vain 
in  that  portion  of  the  country  that  lies  between  Vera  Cruz 
and  the  city  of  Mexico. 

We  experienced  no  interruption  from  the  Mexicans  on  our 
march  ;  indeed  it  would  have  been  strange  if  we  had,  con 
sidering  their  contemptible  defence  of  Cerro  Gordo.  The 


204  .     ADVENTURES  Of  A  SOLDIER  IN  MEXICO. 

appearance  of  the  country  as  we  approached  within  a  few 
miles  of  Jalapa,  seemed  one  continuous  garden,  teeming 
with  the  richest  luxuriance  of  tropical  vegetation.  The 
mountain  of  Orizaba,  with  its  dazzling  white  and  clear  cold 
summit  piercing  the  blue  cerulean,  seemed  within  a  few 
miles  of  us,  though  in  reality  we  were  about  twenty-five 
miles  distant.  This  effect  was  produced  by  the  remarkable 
purity  and  clearness  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  sun  shining 
upon  the  snow  with  which  it  is  always  covered.  The  town 
of  Jalapa  is  four  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
and  is  situated  on  the  side  of  a  hill.  It  is  embraced  by  an 
amphitheatre  of  wooded  mountains,  which  rise  immediately 
behind  it  to  the  height  of  several  thousand  feet ;  but  in  front, 
looking  towards  Vera  Cruz,  there  is  an  open  view  of  the  sea 
coast,  and  in  fine  clear  weather  the  ships  may  be  seen  in  the 
harbour  at  Vera  Cruz  with  an  ordinary  spy-glass. 

As  we  entered  Jalapa,  the  windows  and  balconies  were 
crowded  with  females,  white,  yellow,  and  brown ;  the  youth 
ful  and  fair  portion  of  whom,  we  were  quite  willing  to 
imagine,  surveyed  our  appearance  with  sparkling  glances  of 
admiration  and  applause.  As  for  the  spiteful  and  vindictive 
looks  of  the  old  and  the  ugly,  why  that  was  perfectly  natural. 
Old  age  and  ugliness  in  Mexico  are  the  firm  allies  of  bigotry 
and  superstition,  and  we  were  no  favourites  with  holy  mother 
church,  who  would  willingly  have  consigned  the  whole  tribe 
of  heretico- Americanos  to  a  far  hotter  climate  than  Mexico. 

We  marched  through  some  of  the  principal  streets  by  a 
circuitous  route  to  the  barracks  wrhich  the  Mexican  soldiers 
had  formerly  occupied,  a  large  substantial  building,  the 
apartments  of  which  were  excessively  dirty.  Several  regi 
ments  of  infantry,  with  the  Rifles  and  1st  Artillery,  were 
crowded  into  these  quarters,  which  were  too  small  to  contain 
one  half  of  them  with  anything  like  comfort :  and  at  night 


MORTALITY    AMONG    THE    VOLUNTEERS.  205 

many  of  the  men  brought  out  their  blankets,  and  lay  down 
on  the  cold  paving  stones  in  the  open  square,  in  preference 
to  sleeping  inside.  Indeed,  it  was  exceedingly  disagreeable 
to  sleep  in  these  rooms,  as  they  were  utterly  dark,  and  the 
floor  being  completely  covered  with  men  lying  rolled  up  in 
their  blankets,  if  one  got  up  in  the  night  time  and  tried  to 
reach  the  door,  he  was  sure  to  stumble  over  and  awake  some 
of  his  sleeping  comrades.  A  number  of  the  men  who  lay 
there  had  also  received  slight  wounds,  and  when  any  person 
happened  to  touch  one  of  them  the  cursing  and  swearing 
that  usually  ensued,  awoke  all  in  the  room.  But  as  we 
were  now  four  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
having  left  the  tierra  caliente  at  least  a  day's  march  behind 
us,  this  exposure  to  the  cold  and  damp  night  air  gave  colds 
and  other  diseases  to  many  of  those  who  slept  in  the  square, 
some  of  which  terminated  fatally.  The  volunteers  were 
marched  to  a  camp-ground  about  three  miles  from  town, 
where  in  consequence  of  the  heavy  rains  at  night,  which 
had  then  set  in,  and  having  no  tents  along  with  them,  their 
condition  was  most  deplorable.  A  great  deal  of  sickness  and 
mortality  immediately  ensued  among  the  volunteers — the 
natural  and  inevitable  consequence  of  this  unfortunate  pre 
dicament,  which  severely  shook  the  hardiest  of  the  half 
horse  and  half  alligator  breed,  and  made  short  work  with 
those  whose  constitutions  were  of  merely  human  organization. 
The  desire  of  General  Scott  to  conciliate  the  inhabitants  of 
Jalapa,  who,  though  friendly  to  the  Americans,  yet  dreaded 
the  presence  of  a  large  body  of  volunteers  in  the  town,  was 
the  cause  commonly  assigned  for  the  arrangement  by 
which  the  volunteers  were  sent  out  to  the  camp.  But  I 
think  a  sufficiently  obvious  cause  was  the  absence  of  build 
ings  in  the  town  capable  of  containing  both  them  and  us  ; 
seeing  which,  I  suspect,  there  could  be  little  hesitation  about 


206  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

which  of  the  two  parties  it  was  proper  to  send  away,  and 
which  to  retain  as  a  garrison.  A  few  days  after  our  arrival, 
there  was  a  proper  arrangement  of  the  troops,  and  they 
were  distributed  to  different  parts  of  the  town.  Our  regi 
ment  found  quarters  in  a  large  building  at  the  corner  of  the 
Plaza  National. 

About  a  week  after  ou^r  arrival  I  was  sent,  with  a  party  of 
men,  to  dig  graves  for  six  of  our  own  deceased  comrades,  who 
had  died  in  consequence  of  wounds  received  in  the  late  action 
at  Cerro  Gordo.  In  digging  these  graves  we  remarked,  though 
we  dug  up  a  number  of  skulls  and  bones  of  the  human  skele 
ton,  that  there  was  not  a  fragment  of  a  coffin  visible.  From  this 
circumstance  we  inferred  that  the  poorer  classes,  in  this  part 
of  Mexico,  dispense  with  coffins  in  burying  their  dead.  This, 
I  have  since  heard,  is  the  case,  and  the  funeral  of  a  Mexican 
child  which  we  met  shortly  after  we  left  the  bury  ing-ground, 
tends  to  confirm  the  opinion.  The  corpse  of  the  child  was  laid 
upon  a  board  which  a  Mexican  peasant  carried  in  his  hand. 
Its  feet  and  hands  were  tied  with  ribbons,  the  hands  joined 
over  the  breast,  and  pointing  upwards  in  the  attitude  of  prayer. 
Its  hair  was  interwoven  with  flowers,  with  which  also  the  body 
was  profusely  decorated.  The  whole  of  the  funeral  party  con 
sisted  of  the  bearer  and  two  women  who  accompanied  him. 

Soon  after  our  arrival  in  Jalapa  the  mortality  among  the 
troops  increased  to  a  frightful  extent,  and  the  obvious  fact 
that  all  was  not  done,  that  under  the  circumstance  could 
have  been  done,  for  the  comfort  and  alleviation  of  the  suffer 
ings  of  the  sick,  rendered  the  condition  of  the  hospital  a  pain 
ful  subject  of  reflection  to  those  whose  constitutions  had  yet 
resisted  the  approach  of  disease.  Some  allowance  must  be 
made  for  the  imperfect  state  of  order  inseparable  from  a  cam 
paign,  but  after  every  liberal  deduction  that  charity  can 
suggest,  there  will  still  remain  a  large  amount  of  blame  to 


DISGRACEFUL    STATE    OF    THE    HOSPITAL.  207 

be  awarded  somewhere  for  the  state  of  things  then  existing 
in  the  Iwspital  at  Jalapa.  I  passed  through  it  several  times, 
having  been  sent  there  on  various  duties,  and  the  scenes 
which  I  saw  there  gave  me  the  most  painful  and  shocking 
impressions  of  any  which  I  observed  during  the  whole  cam 
paign.  Sick  men,  some  of  whom  were  wounded,  and  others 
wasted  to  skeletons  with  diarrhoaa,  and  in  the  last  stage  of 
illness,  lay  on  a  thin  piece  of  matting  or  a  dirty  doubled-up 
blanket,  on  the  cold  and  hard  brick  floor.  Many  of  them 
had  on  shirts  which  they  had  evidently  worn  for  weeks,  and 
I  was  told  by  some  of  the  patients  that  nearly  all  of  them 
were  infested  with  vermin.  Their  diet  was  bread  and  coffee, 
which  few  of  them  could  eat ;  indeed  a  more  unsuitable  diet 
could  scarcely  have  been  chosen.  I  should  be  sorry  to 
attach  blame  to  any  person  in  particular  for  this  notoriously 
bad  management,  but  I  can  scarce  help  thinking,  that  as  a 
considerable  sum  of  money  had  been  seized  at  Cerro  Gordo, 
a  large  portion  of  it  might  have  been  very  beneficially  em 
ployed  in  remedying  these  evils.  At  least  clean  and  com 
fortable  bedding  might  have  been  furnished  to  the  patients, 
who  might  also  have  had  their  linen  washed.  There  was 
abundance  of  soap  and  water  in  Jalapa,  and  hundreds  of  poor 
women  who  would  have  been  very  glad  of  the- employment.  It 
seems  strange  that  such  an  idea  never  suggested  itself  to  any 
person  competent  to  have  it  carried  into  effect.  I  know  that 
among  the  soldiers  of  our  company,  who  discussed  the  matter 
frequently,  the  remedy  always  appeared  as  simple  and  easy 
of  execution  as  desirable. 

The  town  of  Jalapa,  from  which  (by  the  by)  the  medicinal 
plant  jalapa,  which  grows  extensively  in  that  district,  takes 
its  name,  is  an  exceedingly  pleasing  specimen  of  a  Mexican 
town.  Besides  the  natural  advantages  of  the  rich  soil  and 
fine  climate  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  its  admirably  pictu 


208  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

resque  situation,  there  is  an  air  of  cleanliness,  industry,  and 
comfort  about  the  poorer  classes  of  the  inhabitants,  both  in 
their  personal  appearance  and  in  that  of  their  houses,  rather 
unusual  to  see  in  Mexico.  The  houses  are  mostly  one  story, 
and  at  most  two  stories  high,  and  their  thick  walls,  built  of 
stone,  are  nicely  white-washed,  contrasting  beautifully  with 
the  deep  verdure  of  the  luxuriant  vegetation  everywhere  seen. 
Orchards,  gardens,  and  green  and  shady  lanes,  where  creep 
ing  vines  trail  their  tendrils,  blossoms,  and  flowers  in  wild 
and  graceful  profusion  over  the  walls  and  fences,  intersect  all 
parts  of  the  town,  except  a  few  streets  in  the  centre.  It  is 
well  supplied  with  good  water,  conducted  from  the  neighbour 
ing  hills,  and  in  every  quarter  of  the  town  are  commodious 
washing-sheds  for  the  use  of  the  public'.  These  sheds  are 
supported  on  stone  pillars,  and  have  rather  an  ornamental 
appearance.  Tubs  are  dispensed  with  in  them  entirely.;  a 
range  of  separate  washing  places,  made  of  smooth  tiles,  and 
running  the  whole  length  of  the  building,  supplying  their 
place.  All  the  linen  of  the  town  is  washed  at  these  places, 
no  one  ever  thinking  of  washing  at  home,  and  there  a  num 
ber  of  women  and  girls  may  be  seen  washing  from  morning 
till  night,  singing,  chatting,  and  laughing  the  while,  as  only 
cheerful  health  and  industry  can  make  people.  Any  person 
who  thinks  the  Mexicans  cannot  be  industrious  should  see 
these  girls  washing  in  Jalapa. 

A  great  many  wealthy  old  Spanish  families  reside  in  Jala- 
pa,  and  the  beauty  of  the  senoritas  (young  ladies)  of  that 
pleasant  little  town  was  generally  admitted  by  the  young 
Americans  to  equal  at  least,  if  not  to  surpass,  the  beauties  of 
the  States.  Groups  of  these  senoritas,  from  sixteen  years  of 
age  and  Tip>vards,  might  be  seen  standing,  in  the  balconies 
that  front  their  windows  in  the  cool  evenings,  chatting,  laugh 
ing,  and  smoking  tue  cigarito.  The  long,  lustrous  black  hair 


THE    SENORITAS    OF»JALAPA.  209 

and  clear  rich  brown  of  her  complexion,  tlie  roguish  twinkle 
of  her  dark  eyes,  and  in  spite  of  her  indulging  in  an  occa 
sional  cigarito,  the  pearly  hue  of  her  admirable  teeth,  seen  to 
excellent  advantage  as  you  listen  to  the  silver  tones  of  her 
delightful  laugh,  render  the  senorita  of  Mexico  rather  interest 
ing.  In  fact,  I  believe  the  Mexican  girl,  or  senorita,  has  the 
most  musical  laugh  of  any  in  the  world.  There  is  an  abso 
lute  magic  in  it,  and  I  would  defy  an  anchorite  to  hear  it 
without  feeling  a  sympathetic  twitch  of  his  risible  organs,  its 
pure  heart-easing  mirth,  and  ringing  melody,  carrying  all 
before  it  as  triumphantly  and  irresistibly  as  the  notes  of  the 
famous  world-enchantress  Jenny  Lind.  If  we  add  to  these, 
that  peculiar  Nora  Creina-like  ease  and  natural  grace  of  mo 
tion  and  gesture  which  distinguish  the  Mexican  females,  pro 
bably  the  result  of  their  emancipation  from  those  ingenious 
instruments  of  female  torture  still  in  use  among  half-civilized 
nations,  called  corsets,  it  will  be  at  once  conceded  that  their 
claims  to  several  of  the  attributes  of  beauty  are  by  no  means 
contemptible. 

The  principal  church  stands  at  the  cornei  of  the  Grande 
Plaza,  and  is  a  strange,  quaint-looking,  but  massive  and 
strong  old  building.  It  is  a  large  church,  and  the  interior  is 
very  richly  and  gaudily  decorated,  with  the  usual  parapher 
nalia  of  these  churches,  of  which  there  are  three  or  four  more 
in  the  town.  Mass  is  performed  in  this  principal  one,  and 
in  one  or  two  of  the  others  every  day.  But  it  seems  to  be 
almost  wholly  for  the  benefit  of  females  on  working  days,  as 
I  have  frequently  observed,  when  the  congregation  wras  com 
ing  out,  that  there  was  scarcely  a  single  man  to  be  seen,  and 
certainly  not  one  in  ten  were  of  the  male  sex. 

The  market  is  held  in  the  Plaza,  a  large  open  paved  square 
in  the  centre  of  the  town,  every  morning ;  Sunday,  as  in  all 
Mexican  towns,  being  the  principal  market.  It  commence? 


210  ADVENTURES   «F    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

about  six  in  the  morning,  and  is  usually  over  about  three  or 
four  in  the  afternoon.  Fruit  and  vegetables  are  the  principal 
articles  sold,  and  these  are  very  cheap.  Fowls  and  eggs  were 
also  tolerably  cheap  when  we  arrived ;  a  good  fowl  being  sold 
for  two  reals,  or  a  shilling,  and  a  dozen  of  eggs  for  one  real ; 
but  a  rapid  rise  in  prices  took  place  soon  after  the  troops 
entered  the  town.  The  alcalde,  an  honest  old  fellow,  who,  I 
dare  say,  never  had  heard  of  political  economy,  and  the  law 
of  supply  and  demand,  was  perfectly  shocked  at  the  extortion 
practised  on  the  soldiers  by  the  vendors  of  commodities. 
He  endeavoured  to  bring  back  the  prices  to  what  they  were 
before  our  arrival,  by  publishing  an  edict  fixing  the  price  of 
articles  ;  but  it  was  of  no  practical  effect,  as  they  easily  found 
means  to  evade  it. 

The  number  of  priests  one  sees  in  the  streets  of  this  small 
town  is  astonishing.  Many  of  them  are  Mexicans  of  the 
lower  class,  that  is  half  Indian  caste,  and  these  are  generally 
of  most  forbidding  aspect,  having  the  oblique,  sinister  eye, 
and  "  forehead  villanous  low,"  of  the  Indian,  and  a  complexion 
tallowish  and  singularly  disagreeable.  I  could  scarcely  help 
fancying  sometimes,  when  I  have  suddenly  met  one  of  these 
hooded  monks,  that  there  lurked  a  twinkle  of  the  unholy  fire 
from  that  "light  of  other  days,"  the  auto  dafc,  in  the  scowl 
which  he  threw  from  under  his  beetle  brow  on  the  heretico 
Americano.  Indeed  I  believe  the  majority  of  them  would 
have  considered  a  little  religious  roasting  only  a  fair  quid  pro 
quo  for  the  sound  basting  the  Americans  were  giving  their 
countrymen,  and  which  threatened  serious  damage  to  the 
monopoly  of  religion  which  the  Virgin  and  her  cowled  and 
hooded  ministry  enjoyed  in  Mexico. 

Shortly  after  our  arrival  in  Jalapa,  General  Scott,  who  was 
an-xious  to  place  his  army  in  winter  quarters,  as  the  rainy 
season  was  commencing,  proceeded  with  the  main  body  of 


HONOURABLE  CONDUCT  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT.     211 

the  army  to  Puebla,  leaving  Colonel  Cliilds,  of  our  regiment, 
Cfovernor  of  Jalapa,  with  a  garrison  of  about  a  thousand  effec 
tive' men,  of  which  our  regiment  formed  a  part.  The  garri 
son  and  sick  left  behind  at  Vera  Cruz,  the  discharge  of  a 
regiment  of  volunteers  whose  term  of  service  had  expired, 
and  the  great  number  of  sick  in  hospital,  with  the  killed  and 
wounded  in  the  late  action,  had  reduced  our  effective  strength 
more  than  half,  and  we  were  now  a  very  insignificant  force 
for  active  operations.  But  as  the  rainy  season  continues  for 
two  or  three  months  at  this  period  of  the  year,  during  which 
it  would  be  folly  to  bring  an  army  into  the  field,  we  should 
have  time  to  wait  for  reinforcements. 

Shortly  after  our  arrival  at  Jalapa,  the  secretary  of  war, 
under  the  direction  of  the  President,  I  suppose,  sent  instruc 
tions  to  General  Scott,  to  commence  taking  provisions  and 
forage  for  the  subsistence  of  his  troops  wherever  he  could 
find  them,  without  paying  for  the  same.  This  they  called 
making  the  war  support  itself,  and  said  it  was  the  only  way 
to  make  the  Mexican  people  anxious  to  end  it,  by  making 
them  feel  its  burden.  With  these  most  stupid  and  atrocious 
instructions,  acting  with  sound  policy,  as  well  as  from 
motives  of  justice  and  humanity,  General  Scott  in  the  most 
explicit  and  decided  terms  refused  to  comply.  He  declared 
in  his  reply  to  the  Secretary,  that  he  would  pay,  or  pledge 
the  credit  of  the  American  Government  for  every  cent's 
Avorth  of  produce  which  the  Mexicans  should  furnish  the 
army  while  under  his  command.  The  good  consequences 
of  this  just  and  honourable  conduct  were  felt  throughout  the 
subsequent  part  of  the  campaign  in  the  comparative  ease 
with  which  we  found  supplies  of  all  descriptions  ;  and  to  the 
mild  and  mitigated  form  which  the  Avar  assumed  under  this 
system,  as  compared  with  that  to  which  another  course 


212  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

would  have  led,  the  speedy  and  favourable  conclusion  of  the 
war  may  be  partly  attributed. 

Colonel  Childs,  the  governor  of  the  town,  with  a  view.  I 
suppose,  to  conciliate  the  priests  and  inhabitants  of  Jalapa. 
had  consented  to  take  a  part  in  a  procession  of  the  host. 
This  caused  a  good  deal  of  grumbling  among  a  regiment 
of  Pennsylvania  volunteers,  who  lay  here  at  the  time,  and 
who  were  loud  in  their  denunciations  of  his  conduct,  con 
sidering  it  a  complete  compromise  of  the  national  honour. 
One  evening  a  procession  of  the  host  going  to  the  house  of 
a  sick  grandee,  a  number  of  chanting  friars  and  priests, 
drawling  Latin  hymns,  and  ringing  bells,  each  with  a  thick 
wax  candle,  lighted,  in  his  hand,  and  all  bareheaded,  and  in 
black  or  white  gowns,  were  seen  issuing  from  the  church 
door  into  the  street.  There  were  about  a  hundred  priests, 
and  a  number  of  boys  in  surplices,  carrying  pots  of  incense. 
In  the  midst  of  this  procession,  Colonel  Childs,  Captain 
Burke,  and  Lieutenants  Brannan  and  Hoffman,  of  the  first 
artillery,  made  their  appearance,  dressed  in  full  uniforms, 
each  carrying  a  lighted  wax  taper  in  one  hand  and  his  cap 
in  the  other.  The  whole  affair,  as  a  matter  of  taste,  was 
simply  absurd  ;  as  a  matter  of  policy,  questionable.  One  can 
hardly  imagine  that  the  Mexicans  would  be  so  easily  gulled 
as  to  believe  that  the  officers  cared  a  farthing  for  the  cere 
monies  they  were  engaged  in.  It  was  more  probable  that 
the  parties  most  inimical  to  us  would  construe  the  desire  to 
conciliate  them  into  a  distrust  of  our  own  rcwurccs,  which 
might  strengthen  their  presumption  and  resistance  to  the 
just  demands  of  America.  However,  had  the  display  been 
limited  to  an  exhibition  of  himself,  and  the  subordinates  who 
attended  him  on  the  occasion,  I  believe  no  one  would  have 
thought  it  worth  more  than  a  passing  laugh ;  but  unfortu- 


ARREARS    OF    PAY.  213 

nately  this  was  not  the  case.  The  officer  commanding  the 
main  guard,  had  received  orders  to  have  the  guard  under 
arms,  ana  m  the  approach  of  the  procession  to  cause  them 
to  present  arms,  and  then  kneel  with  their  muskets  in  the 
left  hands,  and  their  caps  in  the  right,  until  the  procession 
had  passed.  To  the  credit  of  the  volunteers  who  formed 
about  two  thirds  of  the  guard,  they  refused  to  obey  this 
absurd  order,  which  was  luckily  not  insisted  on,  or  the  con 
sequences  might  have  been  serious.  As  for  the  portion  of  the 
regular  soldiers  who  were  upon  guard,  they  performed  their 
part  of  the  ceremony  without  hesitation,  evidently  consider 
ing  it  a  piece  of  foolish  enough  drill,  and  nothing  more. 
The  officer  of  the  guard  was  a  sensible  fellow,  and  deserves 
credit  for  not  rigidly  enforcing  the  obedience  of  the  volun 
teers,  and  indeed  it  is  probable  that  he  saw  the  absurdity 
arid  unconstitutional  nature  of  the  proceeding.  But  it  was 
a  great  blunder  for  Colonel  Childs  to  issue  an  order  of  such 
:i  nature,  and  had  it  led  to  serious  consequences,  as  with  a 
blundering  headstrong  officer  on  guard,  it  most  likely  would 
have  done,  he  would  have  incurred  a  heavy  responsibility. 

About  the  latter  end  of  May,  we  received  four  months' 
pay.  This  had  been  very  much  wanted  for  some  time  ;  and 
for  the  last  month  especially,  the  men  had  grumbled  loudly 
at  the  long  delay  of  the  paymaster.  The  long  periods  that 
elapsed  between  the  payments  of  the  army  while  in  Mexico 
was  a  serious  grievance,  causing  much  suffering  and  dissatis 
faction.  Soldiers  are  exceedingly  improvident,  and  many 
of  them,  indeed  the  far  greatest  number  of  them — squander 
their  pay,  of  which  they  receive  two  months  at  once,  in  a 
few  days,  or  weeks  at  farthest.  Sometimes  they  are  not 
paid  for  a  period  of  four  months,  as  in  the  present  instance, 
when  a  private  receives  twenty-four  dollars,  about  five 
pounds.  This  produces  a  short  saturnalia  succeeded  by 


214  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

months  of  destitution,  during  which,  i  soldier  feels  the  want 
of  a  number  of  those  little  comforts  and  luxuries,  which 
habit  has  converted  into  necessaries,  most  acutely.  Tobacco 
to  those  who  are  habitual  users  of  it,  as  nine  tenths  of  the 
soldiers  are,  or  a  glass  of  spirits  when  cold  or  wet  in  camp, 
or  on  a  march,  and  without  the  means  of  getting  dried  or 
warmed,  these  are  not  only  harmless  luxuries,  but  necessary 
restoratives  in  many  cases.  Such  apparent  trifles  as  these 
are  essential  to  the  comfort  of  most  soldiers,  and  render 
endurable  the  thousand  petty  annoyances  and  discomforts 
of  a  life  full  of  hardships ;  and  for  want  of  these,  or  the 
means  of  obtaining  them,  I  have  seen  soldiers  become  gloomy, 
irritable,  and  even  disobedient  and  mutinous.  As  a  means 
of  preventing  these  results,  consequent  on  the  payment  of 
two  or  four  months'  pay  at  a  time,  an  excellent  remedy 
might  be  found  in  giving  each  soldier  a  small  sum  weekly 
through  the  medium  of  his  captain,  which  might  be  charged 
on  the  monthly  pay  roll. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Departure   from   Jalapa — Deserters — On   the   march — Captain 
Walker — Perote — Tepe  Agualco — Puebla. 

ABOUT  the  middle  of  June,  a  large  reinforcement  under  the 
command  of  General  Cadwallader  having  arrived  at  Jalapa, 
according  to  the  instructions  which  Colonel  Childs  had 
received,  we  had  orders  to  prepare  for  a  march  to  join  the 
main  body,  then  quartered  in  Puebla,  The  lieutenant  who 
commanded  the  company  to  which  I  belonged,  had,  shortly 
before  this,  been  promoted  to  a  captaincy  in  another  com 
pany.  We  had  got  as  our  captain,  when  he  left,  a  dashing 
sort  of  fellow  called  Captain  Magruder,  who  being  particu 
larly  distinguished  for  his  skill  in  light  artillery  manoeuvres, 
got  charge  of  two  twelve-pounder  guns ;  our  company  was 
thus  converted  into  horse  artillery,  and  had  charge  of  a 
battery.  We  therefore  gave  our  muskets  into  the  charge  of 
the  ordnance  department,  and  received  in  exchange  about 
forty  of  the  quartermaster's  best  horses,  for  which  a  number 
of  Mexican  saddlers  were.,  immediately  employed  in  altering 
and  fitting  harness,  and  in  a  few  days  we  were  fully  equipped 
as  mounted  artillery.  Our  battery,  which  was  principally 
got  up  for  the  purpose  of  being  used  on  the  march,  as  it  was 
expected  that  the  enemy  would  oppose  us  at  some  of  the 
mountain  passes  between  Jalapa  and  Puebla,  consisted  of 
two  twelve-pounder  brass  guns,  and  a  small  brass  howitzer. 
It  having  been  General  Scott's  instructions  to  evacuate 
Jalapa  and  join  head-quarters  at  Puebla,  with  the  next 


216  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

reinforcement,  all  the  sick  who  were  able  to  Lear  the-journey 
were  to  be  conveyed  in  waggons  to  the  castle  of  Perot e. 
The  authorities  of  Jalapa  had  humanely  undertaken  the 
care  of  those  too  ill  to  be  removed,  a  charge  which  we  after 
wards  learned  they  most  faithfully  and  honourably  fulfilled. 

On  the  25th  of  June  we  commenced  our  march,  but  only 
proceeded  to  a  plain  called  the  Camp  ground,  where  the 
volunteers  lay  before  leaving  for  Puebla.  It  is  about  three 
miles  out  of  the  town  on  the  road  to  Perotc ;  there  we 
pitched  our  tents  and  encamped  for  the  night.  The  train 
which  arrived  with  Cadwallader  had  brought  our  tents  from 
Vera  Cruz ;  as  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  an  army 
to  encamp  on  the  table  lands  without  tents,  owing  to  the 
coldness  of  the  nights.  For  some  time  before  we  left  Jalapa 
the  emissaries  of  the  Mexican  Government  had  been  busy 
tampering  with  the  soldiers  of  our  army,  holding  out  large 
promises  of  preferment  and  distinction  to  any  of  our  men 
who  would  join  their  army,  and  giving  them  money  and 
liquor  as  earnest  of  a  future  higher  reward.  ~  Unfortunately 
for  their  dupes,  they  were  only  too  successful,  and  a  great 
many  of  our  men  stayed  behind.  This  result  was  also  partly 
occasioned  by  the  foolish  and  tyrannical  conduct  of  a  num 
ber  of  the  young  officers  of  the  American  service,  who 
abused  their  authority  greatly,  and  who  were  not  sufficiently 
checked  by  the  senior  officers  of  the  service.  Out  of  the 
company  to  which  I  belonged  ten  deserted,  more  than  an 
eighth  of  our  entire  company,  which  was  not  eighty  strong 
at  the  time.  I  cannot  say  for  its  correctness,  but  it  was 
currently  rumoured,  and  I  think  it  highly  probable,  that 
there  were  between  two  and  three  hundred  desertions  from 
our  army  while  we  lay  at  Jalapa. 

The  ground  where  we  encamped  was  a  fine  grassy  plain, 
and  near  it  ran  a  stream  of  pure  water ;  it  was  capable  of 


THE    ADVANTAGE    OF    HAVING    A    HORSE.  217 

affording  accommodation  for  an  army,  being  several  miles 
in  extent.  Our  guns  were  placed  in  front  of  our  tents  at  a 
convenient  distance,  and  the  picket  rope  having  been  stretch 
ed  between  the  caissons  extended  for  the  purpose,  our  horses 
were  fastened  to  it  for  the  night.  It  rained  a  good  deal 
during  the  night  as  usual ;  for  during  the  rainy  season  in 
this  part  of  Mexico  a  heavy  fall  of  rain,  often  accompanied 
by  thunder  and  lightning,  usually  takes  place  every  after 
noon  or  evening,  and  continues  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  night,  the  mornings  and  fore  part  of  the  day  being 
invariably  bright  and  clear. 

We  were  roused  by  the  bugle  sounding  the  stable  call  in 
front  of  our  tents  at  half-past  three  o'clock  in  the  morning ; 
I  mean  our  company,  for  the  remainder  of  the  division  did 
not  get  up  for  an  hour  and  a  half  after  that.  One  of  the 
evils  of  having  horses  on  a  march,  is  that  you  have  to  get 
up  considerably  earlier  than  the  rest  of  the  division,  as  you 
have  to  rub  down  your  horses,  take  them  to  water,  and 
harness  and  feed  them.  But  still  there  are  advantages  to 
be  derived  from  them  which  more  than  counterbalance  any 
slio'ht  trouble  thev  mav  occasion.  Just  imagine  the  differ- 

•7  •/  O 

erice  of  getting  yourself  carried,  in  place  of  carrying  a 
musket  and  knapsack,  and  limping  along  tired  and  foot-sore, 
after  a  long  day's  march,  as  an  infantry  soldier.  In  the 
evening,  after  a  long  day's  march,  while  the  infantry  soldier 
feds  every  joint  aching  and  can  hardly  drag  his  tired  limbs 
round  the  camp,  the  soldier  who  has  been  riding  all  the  day 
finds  it  a  pleasant  and  relaxing  exercise  to  rub  down  and 
curry  his  horse,  ride  him  to  water,  and  carry  him  his  forage, 
Indeed,  I  believe  it  would  take  a  great  deal  to  tempt  a  man 
who  knows  the  difference  of  campaigning  as  a  dragoon  or 
light  artillery-man,  to  change  situation  with  a  soldier  belong 
ing  to  an  infantry  regiment.  But  very  few  of  our  men 

10 


218  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIk.v    IX    MEXICO. 

thought  so  then  I  dare  say,  and  as  many  of  them  kne\v  nothing 
about  the  management  of  horses,  they  thought  it  a  great 
bore  to  have  anything  to  do  with  them.  For  my  own  part, 
I  must  confess  that  this  was  the  case  with  myself  at  the 
time.  I  had  only  been  on  a  horse's  back  two  or  three  times 
in  my  life,  and  that  more  than  twenty  years  before ;  the 
plain  fact  being,  that  I  knew  as  much  about  a  horse  as  a 
horse  knew  about  me.  But  one  of  our  sergeants  was  sick, 
and  I  being  the  senior  corporal,  was  furnished  with  a  tall 
grey  charger,  and  compelled  to  take  his  place.  However, 
my  gallant  grey  was  a  very  quiet  sort  of  animal,  and  too 
generous  to  take  advantage  of  my  ignorance  in  the  noble 
art  of  horsemanship,  which  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  his 
sagacious  penetration  was  not  long  in  discovering.  In  fact, 
I  could  almost  imagine  sometimes,  from  the  peculiarly  sly 
and  humorous  expression  of  his  eye  as  he  observed  my  want 
of  tact  in  the  arrangement  of  his  furniture,  that  he  was 
indulging  in  an  inward  chuckle  at  my  awkwardness,  though 
too  well  mannered  to  break  out  into  a  loud  horse-laugh  to 
my  face.  Still  we  got  along  very  well  together,  and  before 
the  end  of  the  march  I  felt  quite  satisfied  that  I  performed 
the  various  duties  of  a  groom  very  much  to  his  satisfaction. 

Our  second  day's  march  was  nearly  all  up  hill,  and  to 
drag  our  heavy  guns  and  caissons  was  killing  work  for  the 
poor  horses.  About  two  o'clock  we  reached  a  stream  of 
water  and  a  convenient  camp  ground,  where  we  pitched  our 
tents  for  the  night ;  strong  pickets  being  sent  out  to  guard 
against  night  surprise  by  the  enemy.  We  had  scarcely 
pitched  our  tents  when  the  rain  began  to  fall  in  torrents,  and 
as  we  had  to  unharness  and  water  our  horses,  and  afterwards 
go  to  a  barley  field  and  cut  a  supply  of  forage  for  them,  we 
were  thoroughly  drenched.  A  most  providential  discover} 
having  been  made  of  a  large  quantity  of  aqiudiente  in  a 


BEAUTIFUL    SCENERY.  219 

distillery  which  stood  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  camp, 
General  Cadwallader  immediately  ordered  its  distribution 
among  the  men,  and  each  man  received  a  gill  of  it.  This 
was  an  excellent  preventive  to  the  bad  effects  of  the  cold  and 
wet,  and  General  Cadwallader  was  unanimously  voted  a 
Christian.  The  distillery  also  contained  a  large  quantity  of 
brown  lump  sugar,  and  several  tons  of  it  were  carried  off  in 
our  waggons.  About  two  hundred!  pounds  of  it  were  put 
into  a  barrel  by  a  man  belonging  to  our  company,  and  thrown 
into  one  of  our  waggons ;  our  men  were  allowed  to  use  as 
much  of  it  as  they  pleased,  and  I  believe  many  of  them  hurt 
themselves  by  using  it  immoderately.  It  continued  .to  rain 
all  night,  but  was  dry  before  we  got  up  to  attend  to  our 
horses.  The  morning  turned  out  very  fine,  and  we  had  break 
fast  and  were  all  ready  for  marching  at  six  o'clock. 

We  began  our  march  between  six  and  seven  o'clock,  and 
as  an  attack  was  threatened  at  the  pass  La  Hoya  which  wo 
were  approaching,  we  moved  slowly,  halting  half  an  hour  or 
an  hour  occasionally,  while  a  party  of  dragoons  were  sent 
forward  to  reconnoitre.  On  these  occasions  we  had  leisure 
to  admire  some  very  fine  scenery,  one  of  these  views  I  think 
the  finest  I  have  seen  in  Mexico.  From  the  right  of  the 
road  there  is  a  deep  green  valley,  which  descends  abruptly, 
stretching  away  a  long  distance,  until  bounded  by  a  lofty 
and  perpendicular  wall  of  bare  rock.  From  the  edge  of  this 
rock  and  along  its  summit  a  large  plain  extends,  cultivated 
in  wheat  and  barley,  and  dotted  with  haciendas.  On  the 
plain  arid  near  the  precipitous  wall,  we  could  see  the  spires 
and  white  buildings  of  a  good-sized  town.  A  river  which 
flowed  along  the  plain  at  the  summit,  passed  near  the  town, 
and  then  fell  dashing  and  sparkling  over  the  sheer  precipice 
into  the  deep  green  valley  beneath.  The  whole  was  seen 
distinctly,  and  yet  sufficiently  distant  to  be  taken  in  by  the 


220  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

eye  at  one  view.  It  was  truly  a  glorious  siglit,  and  though 
not  so  magnificent  as  the  views  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Puebla  and  Mexico,  yet  it  was  more  pleasingly  romantic,  and 
just  the  sort  of  smiling  scene  calculated  to  make  one  wish  he 
could  pass  the  remainder  of  his  days  near  it. 

*We  halted  near  evening  at  a  camp  ground,  surrounded 
by  a  complete  amphitheatre  of  hills.  It  was  a  fine  level 
grassy  bottom,  with  a  clear  stream  at  one  end  of  it,  and  a 
large  wooden  trough  in  the  centre,  which  had  probably  been 
erected  by  the  Government  for  the  use  of  cavalry  on  the 
march.  It  rained  this  evening  as  usual ;  and  as  the  enemy, 
several  thousand  strong,  were  known  to  be  in  the  neighbour 
hood,  pickets  had  to  cover  all  the  adjacent  heights  to  guard 
against  a  night  surprise.  These  poor  fellows,  after  marching 
all  day,  and  so  tired  that  they  were  incapable  of  keeping  up 
the  circulation  of  the  blood  by  motion  and  exercise,  had  to 
be  out  all  night  in  the  cold  and  wet.  "We  were  now  at  an 
elevation  of  about  7000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  nearly 
twice  the  height  of  Ben  Lomond,  the  highest  hill  in  Scotland, 
and  the  nights  were  very  cold.  After  all,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  the  mortality  is  so  great  in  an  army  during  a  campaign, 
when  one  considers  the  constant  exposure  to  extremes  of 
heat,  cold,  and  fatigue,  to  which  the  soldier  is  subjected,  and 
the  hunger  and  thirst  he  has  frequently  to  endure,  or  the  bad 
quality  of  the  food  or  water  he  is  sometimes  glad  to  use.  It 
cleared  up  about  the  middle  of  the  night,  and  when  we  rose 
in  the  morning  there  was  hoar  frost  on  the  ground. 

We  had  the  most  dangerous  part  of  the  pass  to  go  through, 
and  we  had  orders  to  keep  our  slow  matches  burning  in  the 
linstocks,  and  be  ready  for  instant  action.  Our  road  for  the 
first  few  miles  was  over  an  ascending  tract  of  broken  lava, 
presenting  the  most  singularly  irregular  surface  of  a  country 
imaginable.  On  each  side  of  the  r^ad  huge  masses  of  lava 


A    GLIMPSE    OF    THE    ENEMY.  221 

stood  at  intervals  like  gigantic  pillars.  Between  these,  and 
covering  the  whole  surface  of  the  ground,  broken  lava  was 
strewn,  with  a  crumbled  sort  of  appearance,  as  if  it  had 
covered  the  ground  in  one  vast  sheet,  and  cracked  into  frag 
ments  by  the  process  of  cooling.  If  lava  is  contractile  and 
expansive,  like  the  metals,  perhaps  the  intense  heat  of  the 
sun  by  day  and  the  cold  frosts  at  night  might  partly  account 
for  the  appearance  of  the  crumbled  portions.  A  great  vari 
ety  of  cactuses,  which,  like  the  eccentric  and  jolly  Mark 
Tapley,  of  the  Blue  Dragon,  never  seem  to  come  out  so  strong 
and  vigorously  as  when  struggling  with  difficulties  of  situa 
tion,  sprang  up  between  the  crevices  of  the  rocks,  and  a  few 
dwarf  aloes  and  stunted  pines  endeavoured  to  gain  a  footing 
here  and  there.  A  wild  and  rugged  range  of  hills  covered 
with  pine  trees,  bounded  the  road  on  the  left ;  and  in  the 
hollows  and  ravines  of  these  the  enemy  were  supposed  to  be 
concealed,  waiting  a  favourable  moment  for  an  attack. 
When  we  had  travelled  about  four  or  five  miles,  a  small  body 
of  the  enemy  were  discovered  about  half  a  mile  off,  on  the 
side  of  the  hill.  The  division  was  halted,  and  our  guns  being 
unlimbered,  and  brought  to  bear  on  them,  we  fired  several 
shots,  when  we  could  see  their  white  dresses  gliding  among 
the  green  trees  and  bushes,  in  all  directions,  reminding  us  of 
a  flock  of  scared  wild  fowl.  At  some  of  the  points  which 
had  the  most  suspicious  appearance,  and  presented  a  good 
point  of  attack  for  an  enemy  bold  enough  to  avail  himself  of 
the  advantage,  companies  were  sent  out  as  skirmishers,  but 
the  enemy  kept  cautiously  out  of  sight. 

.About  ten  o'clock  we  met  Captain  Walker  and  his  dra 
goons.  He  had  received  information  that  a  force  had  been 
collected  with  the  design  of  attacking  us,  and  had  come  out 
from  Perote  to  our  assistance.  He  left  Perote  on  the  pre 
ceding  evening,  and  being  conducted  by  a  Mexican  spy  to  a 


222  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

place  where  a  large  body  of  the  enemy  were  assembled,  he 
routed  them  in  the  utmost  confusion,  1m  dragoons  cutting 
down  a  great  many  with  their  sabres.  We  arrived  at  a  vil 
lage  a  little  beyond  the  pass,  about  seven  miles  from  Perote, 
which  was  said  to  belong  to  Canales,  a  Mexican  general, 
known  to  be  a  most  bitter -enemy  of  the  Americans.  The 
village  was  completely  deserted  by  its  inhabitants,  and  as 
they  were  considered  to  form  part  of  the  guerilla  force 
assembled  to  oppose  us,  it  was  set  on  fire  and  burned  to  the 
ground. 

Captain  Walker  and  his  dragoons  were  much  feared  and 
hated  by  the  Mexicans  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Perote. 
They  had  the  duty  assigned  them  of  hunting  out  and  routing 
the  bands  of  guerillas  who  infested  that  neighbourhood,  and 
as  might  be  expected  from  troops  on  a  service  of  that  natuiv, 
\\ere  said  to  commit  actions  at  times  that  would  scarcely 
bear  a  strict  examination.  It  is  reported  that  Captain 
Walker  frequently  told  his  men  that  he  wished  them  to 
bring  in  no  prisoners  ;  the  inference  which  his  men  were  cer 
tain  to  draw  from  this  hint  may  be  easily  conceived.  But 
one  of  the  great  evils  of  guerilla  warfare  is,  that  it  necessa 
rily,  by  the  process  of  retaliation  which  it  induces,  ends  in  a 
dishonourable  and  savage  system  of  inhuman  butchery  and 
fiendish  assassination.  Captain  Walker,  a  Texan,  with  his 
father  and  two  brothers,  had  been  taken  prisoners  by  the 
Mexicans  in  some  foray  which  they  had  made  on  the  Mexi 
can  frontiers,  a  few  years  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  pre 
sent  war.  With  a  large  body  of  American  prisoners  taken 
at  the  same  time,  they  were  confined  in  the  dungeons  of  the 
castle  of  Perote,  where  a  number  of  them  soon  died  of  the 
bad  treatment  they  received.  A  proportion  of  their  number 
were  ordered  by  the  Mexican  Government  to  be  shot,  the 
victims  being  indica  cd  by  drawing  lots.  Captain  Walker'? 


TOWN    AND    CASTLE    OF    PEROTE.  223 

father  and  brother  were  among  those  shot  on  the  occasion> 
and  it  is  said  that  he  then  resolved  to  pursue  the  Mexicans 
will i  relentless  revenge  on  every  practicable  opportunity. 
lie  obtained  his  release  some  time  after,  with  the  remaining 
prisoners,  and  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  present  war,  having 
obtained  the  command  of  a  body  of  volunteer  dragoons, 
raised  in  Texas,  and  called  Texan  Rangers,  he  returned  to 
fulfil  his  resolution,  and  pour  out  the  vials  of  his  wrath  on 
the  wretched  peasantry.  lie  was  killed  at  a  battle  fought 
at  a  place  called  Iluamantla,  near  Puebla,  about  four  or  five 
months  after  this. 

From  the  pass  Los  Vigas,  the  country  begins  to  exhibit 
signs  of  cultivation,  and  we  soon  reached  an  extensive  plain 
where  we  had  a  view  of  the  town  and  castle  of  Perote. 
Large  fields  of  barley  and  wheat,  then  ripe  and  yellow,  ex 
tended  for  miles  over  the  plain,  with  not  a  sign  of  an  enclo 
sure  or  a  division,  and  the  rugged  hills  on  the  left  were  cul 
tivated,  in  some  parts,  half  way  up  their  sloping  sides.  The 
insulated  mountain  of  Pizarro,  a  vast  mass  of  rock,  termi 
nating  in  a  lofty  cone,  rises  in  the"  plain,  about  a  distance  of 
eight  miles  behind  Perote  ;  on  the  left,  in  the  distance,  stand 
the  volcanoes  covered  with  snow,  and  in  front  of  them  a  long 
line  of  craggy  mountains.  We  passed  on  the  side  of  the 
road  a  few  miserable  villages  of  mud  hovels,  the  abodes  of  the 
wretched  peons  who  cultivated  the  rich  fields  we  wrere  pass 
ing  through  ;  also  several  haciendas,  the  residences  of  the 
proprietor  or  manager  of  the  estate,  and  were  soon  in  the 
suburbs  of  Perote.  The  maguey  makes  its  first  appearance 
here,  where  it  is  used  for  fences,  and  from  Perote  to  the  city 
of  Mexico,  it  constitutes  a  prominent  feature  in  the  landscape. 
This  is  the  gigantic  American  aloe,  from  which  the  beverage 
called  pulque  is  extracted,  of  which  all  Mexicans  are  so  fond. 

We  en^.niped  en  the  plains  in  front  of  the  castle,  which 


224  ADVENTURES    OS1    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

is  situated  about  a  mile  from  the  town  of  Perote.  Tina 
strong  garrison  was  taken  possession  of  by  General  North, 
•who  followed  the  Mexicans  in  their  retreat  after  the  battle  of 
Cerro  Gordo,  affording  them  no  time  to  garrison  or  provision 
it  for  resistance.  The  town  of  Perote,  one  would  naturally 
imagine,  should  have  exhibited  some  symptoms  of  the  pros 
perity  which  reigned  so  delightfully  in  the  fruitful  abundance 
of  the  surrounding  landscape.  But  I  believe  I  never  saw  a 
more  melancholy  and  decayed  town  in  any  part  of  the  coun 
try,  which  is  saying  a  great  deal.  Nearly  a  third  of  the 
houses,  which  are  nearly  all  built  of  mud,  were  rootless  and 
in  ruins,  and  the  miserable  inhabitants  seemed  to  have  in 
extreme  degree  the  shivering,  starved,  and  apathetic  look  of 
cheerless,  indolent  misery  that  characterises  the  Indian  pea 
santry  between  Vera  Cruz  and  the  capital.  The  men  haunted 
the  silent  and  ruinous  streets  with  their  melancholy  visages, 
and  wrapped  in  their  dingy  blankets,  looking  like  spectres 
of  famine  ;  no  employment,  or  any  appearance  of  it,  nothing 
but  dirt,  indolence,  hunger,  and  utter  Mexican  wretchedness, 
in  the  midst  of  scenes  of  smiling  plenty. 

We  stayed  in  Perote  two  days,  during  which  we  had  .„ 
number  of  our  horses  shod,  and  on  the  29th  we  resumed  our 
march.  For  some  distance  after  leaving  the  town  of  Perote, 
our  road  lay  through  fields  of  wheat  and  barley,  and  occa 
sionally  a  large  field  of  beans,  a  great  article  of  food  in  Mex 
ico.  But  the  same  wretchedness  of  appearance  distinguished 
the  huts  of  the  peasantry,  and  the  men,  women,  and  children 
whom  we  saw  in  their  vicinity,  that  we  had  remarked  in  the 
same  objects  for  the  few  previous  days.  As  we  neared  the 
mountain  of  Pizarro  we  left  the  cultivated  part  of  the  plain 
The  road  winds  round  the  base  of  this  volcanic  mountain  foi 
a  considerable  distance,  and  on  a  near  view  on  the  highest  peak 
of  the  rock  a  large  wooden  cross  is  visible.  By  the  by,  iis 


THE    MIRAGE.  225 

travelling  between  Vera  Cruz  and  the  capital,  one  every  now 
and  then  observes  a  small  wooden  cross  creeled  by  the  road 
side,  wreaths  of  withered  flowers  hanging  on  some  of  them, 
These,  we  were  told,  had  been  erected  to  indicate  the  spot 
where  the  dead  body  or  bodies  of  murdered  travellers  had 
been  recently  found,  and  buried,  and  the  frequency  of  their 
appearance  said  volumes  on  the  insecurity  of  human  life 
while  travelling  on  that  route.  A  peasant,  on  passing  these 
crosses,  if  a  man,  takes  off  his  hat,  and  if  a  woman,  she 
drops  a  curtsey  ;  I  have  frequently  seen  them  kneeling  and 
saying  prayers  in  front  of  them.  As  we  circled  round  the 
base  of  the  mountain,  we  saw  the  mirage — that  singular  na 
tural  phenomenon  which  one  reads  of  in  books  of  travel,  and 
which  I  had  someho\v  always  supposed  was  confined  to  the 
sandy  plains  of  Africa.  I  was  prepared  to  look  for  it  here, 
however,  having  been  told  by  one  of  my  comrades,  as  we 
came  along,  who  had  been  reading  in  a  book  of  Mexican 
travels  an  account  of  its  being  always  seen  in  the  plain  be 
yond  the  Pizarro  on  a  clear  day.  But  so  perfect  was  the 
optical  illusion,  that  reason  could  scarcely  prevail  against  the 
seeming  evidence  of  sense.  It  appeared,  at  the  distance  of 
three  or  four  miles,  to  be  an  extensive  lake  distinctly  set  in 
the  plain,  and  reaching  to  the  base  of  a  range  of  hills,  whose 
dark  masses  were  distinctly  seen  inverted  in  the  clear  mirror. 
As  we  approached,  however,  the  lake  was  gradually  con 
verted  into  a  large  sandy  plain,  over  which  the  rays  of  light 
trembled  with  undulous  motion  through  the  highly  rarified 
atmosphere.  At  length  we  reached  Tepe  Agualco,  a  town 
of  mud  houses,  near  a  range  of  dismal,  dark,  and  rugged 
mountains,  bare  to  their  summits,  half  way  up  one  of  which 
was  seen  a  quaint-looking  old  church.  A  few  straggling 
fences  of  the  maguey  were  the  only  ornament  in  the  village 
which  contained  three  large  mesons,  or  inns. 

10* 


226  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

These  mesons  are  so  nearly  alike  in  their  accommodations 
for  travellers  in  all  the  towns  and  villages  on  the  road  from 
Vera  Cruz  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  with  the  exceptions  of 
Jalapa  and  Puebla,  that  one  description  may  suffice  for  all. 
They  are  usually  built  in  the  form  of  a  large  square,  the 
buildings  being  one  story  high.  The  front  of  the  square, 
through  the  centre  of  which  there  is  a  wide  entrance,  care 
fully  closed  at  night  by  a  large  gate,  contains  the  domestic 
establishment  of  the  proprietor,  with  his  offices  and  kitchens. 
The  furthest  end  of  the  square  is  a  range  of  sheds  furnished 
with  stalls  and  feeding  troughs  for  an  unlimited  number  of 
quadrupeds,  and  the  sides  of  the  square  are  ranges  of  small 
unventilated  apartments,  about  six  feet  by  ten,  with  a  door 
in  the  centre,  but  no  windows.  Into  one  of  these  cells  the 
traveller  and  his  luggage  are  stowed  ;  he  makes  his  bed,  if  he 
is  so  fortunate  as  to  possess  the  means  of  doing  so,  on  the 
floor,  never  very  clean,  but  which  he  may  sweep  if  he  can 
find  a  broom  on  the  premises.  An  air  of  the  most  perfect 
Contempt  for  the  virtue  of  cleanliness  pervades  every  corner 
of  the  establishment,  and  the  bill  of  fare  is  usually  limited 
to  a  very  few  simple  dishes,  among  which  tortillas  and  fri- 
joles,  maize  cakes,  and  beans  stewed  in  lard,  form  promi 
nent  items.  In  short,  the  person  purposing  to  visit  Mexico 
who  is  not  prepared  for  being  robbed  on  the  highway  by 
banditti,  or  is  nice  in  the  article  of  diet,  or  not  impervious  to 
the  attacks  of  fleas  and  other  unmentionable  vermin,  would 
be  wise  either  to  lay  up  a  considerable  share  of  stoical  en 
durance,  and  resolve  to  submit  heroically  to  the  force  of 
circumstances,  or  altogether  abandon  the  rash  purpose. 

We  remained  in  Tepe  Agualco  two  days,  as  General  Cad- 
wallader  wished  to  allow  a  reinforcement  of  troops  under 
General  Pierce,  who  were  only  two  or  three  days'  march  in 
rear  of  us,  to  come  up  with  our  division.  Pulque  is  one  of 


PUROS    AND  '  CIGARITOS.  227 

the  principal  products  of  Tepe  Agualco,  and  three  or  four  old 
women  were  seated  in  front  of  one  of  the  mesons,  each  with 
a  pitcher  of  that  liquor  and  an  earthen  jug,  which  held  nearly 
a  pint,  and  which  they  sold  for  dos  clacos,  about  three  cents. 
I  drank  a  jug  full  of  it,  and  although  the  first  time  I  had 
tasted  it,  relished  it  very  much.  It  produced  the  same  sort 
of  exhilarating  etfect  as  an  equal  quantity  of  moderately 
strong  ale. 

On  the  1st  of  July  we  commenced  our  march  over  an 
extensive  plain,  uncultivated,  except  an  occasional  patch  of 
beans  or  barley  along  the  edge,  at  the  bottom  of  mountains 
which  bound  it.  The  plains  here  are  covered  with  short 
grass,  and  a  variety  of  flowering  and  sweet-scented  herbs, 
and  in  the  morning  when  we  began  our  march  the  air  was 
deliciously  perfumed  with  the  odour  they  diffused  as  we  trod 
on  them.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Tepe  Agualco  the  plain 
is  covered  with  pumice  stones.  These  some  inventive 
genius  conceived  the  idea  of  converting  into  tobacco  pipes, 
by  cutting  the  soft  stone  into  the  shape  of  a  bowl,  and 
sticking  a  reed  or  hollow  tube  into  it.  Our  supply  of  pipes 
had  become  quite  exhausted,  and  none  could  be  procured, 
as  the  Mexicans  never  use  anything  but  the  ciyarito  or  puro 
in  smoking.  Necessity  suggested  the  pumice  stone,  which 
answered  the  purpose  so  well  that  one-half  of  the  men  might 
be  seen  smoking  them  in  tl>«  course  of  a  day  or  two  after 
the  first  one  had  been  seen.  I  may  remark  for  the  benefit 
of  the  reader  that  a  puro  means  a  cigar,  and  a  cigarito  is 
only  a  small  quantity  of  finely-cut  tobacco  rolled  up  in  a 
paper  about  a  couple  of  inches  long,  and  the  thickness  of  a 
very  fine  quill.  One  puro  or  cigar  contains  as  much  tobacco 
and  will  cost  as  much  money  as  twenty  cigaritos.  You 
may  have  a  bundle  of  cigaritos  containing  from  fifty  to  a 


228  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    !>'    MEXICO.     » 

hundred  for  une  medio  (six  cents),  but  you  can  only  pur 
chase  two  or  three  puros  for  the  sa.ne  sum. 

The  plains,  or  table  lands,  ticrra  templada,  commence  a 
few  miles  from  Perote,  and  this  plateau  continues  to  a  con 
siderable  distance  beyond  Fuebla,  where  a  high  range  of 
mountains  divides  it  from  the  valley  of  Mexico.  These 
plains,  which  are  perfectly  level,  and  on  which  there  is  not  a 
single  tree,  ditch,  fence,  or  habitation,  or  a  shrub  higher  than 
a  man's  knee,  present  a  desolate  and  deserted  appearance. 
They  are  everywhere  bounded  by  mountains,  and  vary  in 
width  from  thirty  or  forty  to  eight  or  ten  miles,  where  they 
are  narrowed  by  the  spurs  of  opposite  mountain  ranges. 
The  villages  or  haciendas  are  built  in  retired  nooks  behind 
the  skirt  of  the  hills  which  bound  them,  and  any  partial 
cultivation  visible  from  Perote  to  Nopaluco,  a  distance  of 
between  forty  and  fifty  miles,  is  a  slight  patch  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountains.  There  are  a  few  exceptions  to  this  general 
description,  and  round  Perote,  Nopaluco,  Amazook,  Puebla, 
and  San  Martin,  there  are  portions  of  the  soil  tolerably  well 
cultivated.  But  these  cover  a  small  portion  of  the  tierra 
templada,  and  I  think  there  is  not  a  twentieth  part  of  the 
available  surface  of  the  country  under  cultivation  between 
Vera  Cruz  and  the  city  of  Mexico  that  would  be  in  a  short 
period  if  the  country  was  possessed  by  a  more  active  and 
vigorous  race.  After  a  march  of  about  fifteen  miles  we 
arrived  and  encamped  at  a  place  called  Ojo  de  Agua  (the 
Eye  of  Water) ;  a  spring  which  gushes  out  from  a  rock  in 
the  side  of  a  hill  here  gives  the  name  to  the  place.  It  is  a 
shallow,  insignificant  stream  at  its  source,  but  it  gradually 
widens,  and  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  spring  my 
comrade  Nutt  and  I  found  it  wide  enough  to  bathe  in. 

On  the  fifth  and  sixth  we  remair-od  in  the  vicinity  of  Ojo 


THE    PIXOL    PASS.  229 

de  Af/ua  to  enable  General  Pierce's  division  to  overtake 
ours  before  we  undertook  to  pass  the  Pinol,  a  dangerous 
pass,  about  eighteen  or  twenty  miles  further  on.  On  the 
morning  of  the  seventh  we  again  resumed  our  march,  and 
about  ten  o'clock  we  arrived  at  Nopaluco,  where  we  halted 
to  procure  water  and  such  refreshments  as  the  place  afforded. 
A  quantity  of  fruit  and  other  edibles  speedily  made  their 
appearance  in  the  market,  and  I  breakfasted  luxuriously  on 
fresh  bread,  delicious  ripe  bananas,  and  chocolate,  for  une 
real,  (twelve  and  a  half  cents.)  Nopaluco  is  built  of  adobe 
or  unburnt  brick,  and  is  finely  situated  on  'a  gentle  rise. 
The  land  for  several  miles  round  is  tolerably  well  cultivated 
in  wheat,  barley,  Indian  corn,  and  the  agave.  About  three 
o'clock  we  reached  the  edge  of  the  pass,  where  we  encamped 
for  the  night. 

On  the  morning  of  the  eighth,  General  Pierce's  division 
joined,  having  been  encamped  a  short  distance  behind  ours 
on  the  previous  night.  A  strong  body  of  skirmishers  were 
sent  up  to  explore  the  woods,  crowning  the  precipitous  cliffs 
which  overhung  our  road  for  several  miles,  and  on  the  edge 
of  which  cliffs  the  enemy  had  poised  huge  masses  of  rock 
ready  to  tumble  on  our  approach,  but  no  trace  of  an  enemy 
could  be  discovered.  After  all  their  preparations  they  had 
very  prudently  given  up  the  attempt,  and  we  passed  the 
Pinol  without  hearing  a  shot  fired.  After  leaving  this  pass, 
our  road  for  a  few  miles  passed  over  what  seemed  the  bed 
of  a  mountain  torrent,  it  was  so  torn  up  and  furrowed  by 
the  heavy  rains ;  a  considerable  tract  of  loose  sand,  inter 
spersed  with  large  masses  of  porphyry,  succeeded,  until  we 
arrived  near  Amazook,  where  the  country  is  very  well  culti 
vated.  Like  all  the  small  Mexican  towns  on  this  road, 
Amazook  consists  of  a  collection  of  adobe  and  mud  build 
ings,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  of  the  principal  houses  ir 


230  ADVENTURES  OF  A  SOLDIER  ix  MEXICO. 

the  Plaza,  where  there  is  also  a  very  handsome  church.  The 
principal  feature  in  every  little  town  and  village  in  Mexico  is 
the  church.  It  is  always  quaint-looking  and  picturesque, 
and  invariably  beside  the  Plaza.  It  is  not  customary  to 
have  the  burial-grounds  adjacent  to  the  churches  in  Mexico 
In  spite  of  the  dirt,  slovenliness,  and  misery  which  seem  to 
envelope  the  population  and  their  wretched-looking  habita 
tions,  the  towns  and  villages  of  Mexico  Lave  always  a 
remarkably  picturesque  appearance.  I  believe  a  good  deal 
of  this  effect  is  produced  by  the  remarkable  purity  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  their  quaint  old  churches,  with  their  exterior 
carved  arid  painted  decorations.  The  Plaza,  being  the 
market-place,  is  usually  a  large  open  space,  giving  effect  to 
the  view  of  the  church,  and  it  mostly  contains  a  fountain  of 
water  in  its  centre,  and  has  a  row  of  trees  around  it,  which 
also  adds' to  the  general  effect. 

On  the  ninth  we  marched  through  a  tolerably  well-cul 
tivated  tract  of  country  to  Puebla.  As  we  approached 
within  five  or  six  miles  of  the  city  we  enjoyed  one  of  the 
finest  views  of  a  city  at  a  distance  that  I  have  ever  seen. 
The  lofty  snow  mountains  of  Popocatepetl  and  Iztaccihuatl, 
with  their  broad  and  heavy-looking  dark  bases,  and  their 
dazzlingly  bright  pyramidal  summits,  rose  in  the  background. 
In  front,  on  the  side  of  a  gently  rising  and  delightfully 
wooded  hill,  sat  Puebla,  every  outline  of  its  numerous  spires 
and  churches  seen  through  the  highly-rarified  and  transpar 
ent  atmosphere  as  distinctly  as  the  lines  of  a  highly-finished 
engraving.  On  arriving  at  Puebla  our  company,  on  account 
of  requiring  accommodation  for  the  horses,  were  comfortably 
quartered  in  a  large  meson,  where  we  remained  until  the 
army  marched  on  the  capital. 


CHAPTER  XXT. 

Pueb-a — Convents  and  public  buildings — Newspaper  generals — An 
Indian  city — San  Martin — Valley  of  Mexico. 

PUEBLA  is  distant  from  the  city  of  Mexico  93  miles,  and  from 
Vera  Cruz  186  miles;  the  distance  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the  city 
of  Mexico  by  the  road  being  279  miles,  though  in  a  direct 
line,  I  believe,  it  is  not  more  than  150.  The  Spaniards  have 
a  proverb,  "  Puebla  the  first  heaven,  Mexico  the  second,"  and 
I  believe  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  superiority  of 
the  site  on  which  Puebla  is  built  as  regards  its  salubrity  and 
healthiness.  The  situation  of  Puebla  does  credit  to  the  taste 
and  judgment  of  the  Spaniards;  this  being  one  of  the  few 
cities  founded  by  them  in  Mexico,  the  others  being  princi 
pally  on  the  foundations  of  Indian  towns  and  cities.  It  is 
built  on  the  side  of  a  beautifully  wooded  hill,  and  its  streets, 
though  not  very  wide,  are  well  paved,  and  have  good  side 
walks  of  flagstone.  The  houses  are  mostly  two  stories  high, 
some  of  them  being  gaudily,  some  fantastically,  and  others 
tastefully,  ornamented  with  painting  and  carving.  Many  of 
thorn  have  the  entire  front  inlaid  with  painted  and  glazed 
tiles,  and  the  whole  produces  a  sort  of  bizarre,  yet  rich  and 
pleasing  effect.  One  of  the  suburbs  contains  a  fine  public 
garden  called  the  Alameda  ;  it  is  more  than  a  mile  in  circum 
ference,  adorned  with  fountains,  jets  cTeau,  and  statues,  and 
is  very  neatly  kept  in  order,  and  tastefully  ornamented  with 
flowering  shrubs  and  trees.  The  houses  are  all  built  of  stone, 
and  large  and  commodious,  and  but  a  small  portion  of  their 


232  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

number  would  seem  to  denote  poverty ;  yet  the  city  swarms 
with  squalid  beggars,  clothed  in  rags  and  exposing  their  dis 
eases  and  deformities.  There  are  several  cotton  factories 
in  operation  in  Puebla  when  things  are  in  a  peaceable  state, 
and  a  number  of  Englishmen  are  employed  in  them  at  high 
wages,  superintending  and  instructing  the  natives  there  em 
ployed.  But  the  war  had  stopped  all  the  machinery,  and 
some  thousands  of  the  inhabitants  of  Puebla,  thrown  out  of 
employment,  were  suffering  great  privation,  both  from  that 
circumstance  and  the  rise  in  the  price  of  commodities, 
caused  by  the  presence  of  such  a  large  body  of  our  army. 
The  goods  made  in  Puebla  are  very  dear,  and  of  coarse 
qualities,  and  only  for  the  enormous  duties  levied  on  foreign 
goods,  these  cotton  factories  could  not  be  carried  on  at  all. 
The  new  tariff  by  which  American  goods  were  admitted  at 
an  almost  nominal  duty,  had  caused  the  stoppage  of  all  the 
manufacturing  machinery  in  Mexico. 

There  are  said  to  be  more  than  a  hundred  domes  and 
spires  in  this  city,  which  has  a  population  of  80,000.  It 
abounds  in  convents,  and  each  of  these  distributes  daily  an 
allowance  of  provisions  at  the  convent  door,  without  money 
and  without  price,  or  even  the  formality  of  a  ticket  from  a  mem 
ber  of  the  mendicity  society ;  a  discriminating  charity  being  no 
part  of  the  policy  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  one  of  whose  delibe 
rate  aims  seems  to  be  the  fostering  of  ignorance  and  poverty. 
To  endeavour  to  unfetter  agricultural,  manufacturing,  and 
commercial  industry,  and  to  have  the  accursed  laws  of  peon 
age  abolished,  so  that  the  people  might  gradually  emerge 
from  this  miserable  serfdom  to  a  more  elevated  and  self- 
dependent  state,  would  scarcely  suit  the  views  of  that  Church. 
I  believe  the  jealous  system  of  Spain  in  discr  uraging  com 
merce  and  free  intercourse  between  her  possessions  and  those 
of  other  countries,  was  dictated  by  the  Church  of  Rome, 


SUFFERINGS  OF  THE  TROOPS.  233 

afraid  of  the  dangerous  activity  of  mind  which  commerce  and 
manufactures  must  inevitably  produce.  Every  stranger  whc 
visits  Mexico,  and  does  not  wilfully  shut  his  eyes  to  the  fact, 
must  perceive  the  culpability  of  the  clergy  in  causing  and 
perpetuating  the  present  condition  of  affairs.  They  seem 
to  have  cared  about  nothing  but  the  endowment  of  churches, 
ornamenting  of  shrines,  and  all  the  childish  mummery  of 
their  pageantry.  Under  the  present  system  of  religious  in 
tolerance  which  prevails  in  Mexico,  it  cannot  be  expected  that 
the  country  will  become  progressive  or  prosperous.  And  if 
anything  can  reconcile  one  to  the  injustice  of  carrying  the 
war  into  the  interior  of  Mexico,  it  would  be  the  benefit  that 
might  possibly  result,  by  showing  the  Mexicans  the  grievous 
inferiority  of  vigorous  action  which  the  deadening  influence 
of  this  system  has  produced. 

The  convents  and  public  buildings  in  Puebla  afforded 
ample  accommodation  to  our  army,  but  few  of  our  men 
seemed  to  enjoy  robust  health.  The  sick  list  and  the  hospi 
tals  were  full  to  overcrowding,  and  one-half  of  those  doing 
duty,  wasted  with  diarrhoea,  looked  like  skeletons  or  mum 
mies  ;  the  hardships  and  privations  of  the  previous  part  of 
the  campaign,  telling  more  or  less  severely  on  nearly  all,  and 
one  could  not  walk  far  through  the  streets- of  Puebla  without 
hearing  the  mournful  strains  of  the  soldier's  funeral  proces 
sion.  At  Perote  too,  where  a  large  number  of  sick  had  been 
left,  the  castle  having  been  converted  into  a  depot,  the  sick 
died  at  the  average  rate  of  twelve  a-day  for  a  series  of 
months.  These  were  interred  without  any  military  formali 
ties,  or  even  the  usual  burial  service ;  being  wrapped  in  the 
blankets  in  which  they  died,  they  were  carted  out  and 
thrown  into  pits  dug  for  the  purpose  daily  outside  of  the 
garrison.  I  suffered  a  good  deal  for  several  months  with  the 
prevalent  complaint,  but  like  a  great  many  others  continued 


234  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

to  do  dmy  when  not  very  able,  being  determined  not  lo  give 
in  if  possible.  I  derived  considerable  benefit'  from  the  use 
of  pulque  and  aquadiente,  and  at  other  times  from  opium,  a 
small  piece  of  which  I  carried  in  a  box  in  my  pocket  during 
the  campaign,  frequently  taking  a  few  grains  of  it  before 
going  to  sleep  at  night. 

The  rainy  season  was  now  nearly  over,  and  all  attempts  at  ne 
gotiation  with  the  enemy,  who  it  was  now  known  had  fortified 
the  approaches  to  the  capital,  having  failed,  General  Scott 
being  ready  for  the  field  about  the  beginning  of  August, 
decided  on  moving  towards  the  city  of  Mexico.  Accordingly 
on  the  6th  of  August  the  first  division  marched  under  the 
command  of  General  Worth,  on  the  8th,  the  second  division 
under  the  command  of  General  Twiggs,  and  the  third  under 
General  Pillow  on  the  9th.  The  company  to  which  I  be 
longed  had  turned  in  the  two  12-pounders  which  we  brought 
up  from  Jalapa,  and  had  got  instead  a  light  battery  consist 
ing  of  two  6-pounder  field  pieces,  and  two  12-pounder  howit 
zers.  We  now  belonged  to  General  Pillow's  division.  The 
whole  effective  strength  of  our  army,  which  was  subdivided 
into  three  nearly  equal  divisions,  consisted  of  about  ten  thou 
sand  men,  including  cavalry  and  artillery.  Of  cavalry,  we 
had  about  a  thousand,  three  troops  of  light  artillery,  one 
heavy  field  battery,  and  a  siege  train  consisting  of  a  few  large 
mortars  and  guns. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  August,  on  leaving  Puebla, 
we  passed  through  a  partially  cultivated  tract  for  a  considera 
ble  distance.  About  six  miles  from  Puebla  we  passed,  two 
or  three  miles  off,  on  the  left  side  of  the  road,  the  ruins  of 
Cholula,  an  Indian  city,  which  the  Spaniards  destroyed  on 
taking  possession  of  the  country.  A  pyramid  erected  before 
the  arrival  of  Cortez  is  still  standing,  and  we  could  see  it 
\istinctly  from  the  road.  It  was  covered  with  shrubs,  ancj 


THE    MARCH    TO    MEXICO.  235 

presented  the  appearance  of  a  natural  hill,  with  a  neat  church 
on  the  top  of  it.  Its  height  is  said  to  be  a  hundred  and 
sixty-two  feet,  and  each  side  of  its  base  1300  feet.  It  is 
built  of  unburnt  bricks  and  clay,  and  contains  cavities  in 
tended  for  sepulchres.  There  are  about  6000  inhabitants  in 
Cholula,  and  they  still  manufacture  a  description  of  earthen 
ware  for  which  they  were  famous  in  the  time  of  Cortez.  We 
met  some  of  these  Indians  carrying  immense  loads  of  this 
earthenware  to  Puebla  ior  sale.  It  is  surprising  what  heavy 
loads  they  carry  on  their  backs  for  a  long  distance  to  market. 
I  have  frequently  seen  them  bringing  a  load  weighing  at 
least  a  hundred  pounds  into  the  city  of  Mexico,  which  I  was 
assured  they  had  brought  on  their  backs  from  the  mountain 
eight  or  ten  miles  off.  They  support  the  burden  behind  by 
a  strap  which  passes  across  their  forehead,  and  carry  a  stick 
with  which  they  prop  it  when  they  are  tired. 

We  encamped  about  twelve  miles  from  Puebla  on  a  mea 
dow  by  the  roadside,  where  there  was  a  pond  of  indifferent 
water.  But  San  Martin  was  twelve  miles  further  and  there 
was  no  other  place  nearer,  and  as  the  next  stage  between  San 
Martin  and  Rio  Frio  was  twenty-four  miles,  and  difficult  for 
the  horses,  being  mostly  up  hill,  it  was  necessary  they  should 
be  fresh  for  that  day\s  march.  San  Martin,  which  we  made 
our  second  day's  stage,  is  a  small  town  containing  a  church 
and  convent,  and  surrounded  by  a  tract  of  fertile  and  well- 
cultivated  land.  We  left  San  Martin  early  on  the  morning 
of  the  third  day's  march,  and  after  passing  through  a  tract 
of  country  covered  with  loose  stones  of  porphyry,  and 
sprinkled  with  pines  and  cedars,  began  to  ascend  the  hills 
that  separate  the  valley  of  Puebla  from  that  of  Mexico. 
After  marching  about  the  half  of  our  day's  journey  we 
arrived  at  a  well-built  stone  bridge  thrown  over  a  deep  pre 
cipitous  gorge,  with  a  .stream  of  good  water  in  a  rocky 


236  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

channel  at  the  bottom.  A  little  way  up  the  hill  on  the  othef 
side  of  the  bridge,  we  halted  at  a  meson-,  and  here  my  com 
rade  Bill  Nutt  and  myself,  with  several  other  fortunate  indi 
viduals,  were  in  time  to  procure  some  fresh  bread,  sausages, 
and  a  drop  of  aquadicntc.  Our  road  for  the  remainder  of 
the  day's  march  was  up  hill,  rough,  and  through  a  thick 
wood  of  pines.  After  travelling  up  hill  for  two  or  tlnve 
hours,  we  began  to  descend  into  the  valley  of  the  Itio  Frio 
(Cold  River).  The  enemy  we  could  see  had  made  some 
preparations  for  defending  the  pass  by  forming  breastworks 
of  felled  trees  at  various  parts  of  it ;  but  they  had  afterwards 
abandoned  the  idea,  being  resolved,  we  supposed,  to  concen 
trate  their  forces  in  defending  the  near  approaches  to  the 
city.  Descending  into  the  valley  we  passed  Rio  ./Wo,  an 
insignificant  stream,  which  runs  across  the  road,  and  which 
deserves  its  name,  as  it  is  nearly  as  cold  as  ice.  It  comes 
down  from  the  snow  mountains,  and  is  shaded  from  the  hot 
rays  of  the  sun  by  the  fine  woods  through  which  it  passes. 
We  encamped  on  a  fine  grassy  plain  a  little  beyond  it.  "We 
began  our  march  early  next  morning,  and  kept  winding 
round  hills  covered^with  thick  woods  of  pines,  and  carpeted 
with  a  variety  of  wild  flowers,  until  about  eleven  o'clock, 
when  wre  reached  a  meson  on  the  summit  of  the  mountain, 
and  obtained  a  view  of  the  far-famed  valley  of  Mexico. 

-Description  is  tame  when  one  tries  to  convey  the  impres 
sion  which  this  scene  usually  makes  on  all  who  see  it  for 
the  first  time.  It  is  certainly  the  most  magnificent  view  in 
Mexico ;  perhaps,  of  the  peculiar  description,  the  first  in  the 
world.  At  an  elevation  of  about  3000  feet,  the  spectator 
sees,  as  if  spread  at  his  feet  like  a  map,  the  who  le  of  the  valley 
of  Mexico,  its  circumference,  at  the  base  of  the  mountains 
which  form  the  sides  of  the  mighty  basin,  being  120  miles, 
and  at  the  crest  of  the  mountains  200  miles.  The  whole. 


THE  VALLEY  OF  MEXICO.  237 

of  the  plain,  from  the  height  on  which  the  spectator  stands, 
is  distinctly  taken  in  at  one  view,  and  the  most  minute  details 
are  distinctly  defined  and  delineated,  owing  to  the  remarka 
ble  transparency  and  purity  of  the  atmosphere.  The  towers 
and  spires  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  twenty-five  miles  distant, 
are  distinctly  seen  peering  out  from  the  foliage  and  trees ; 
almost  the  only  part  of  the  valley  where  trees  are  to  be  seen, 
by  the  by,  is  that  round  the  city.  The  remainder  of  the 
valley  presents  the  uniform  appearance  of  a  large  green 
plain,  dotted  with  white  churches,  spires,  and  haciendas,  and 
containing  several  large  sheets  of  water,  the  remains  of  the 
lakes  which  are  said  to  have  once  nearly  covered  the  whole 
valley.  Several  small  insulated  mountains  may  also  be  dis 
tinctly  discerned,  the  only  large  objects  that  rise  on  the  sur 
face  of  the  vast  unbroken  green  plain.  The  mountains  of 
Pocopocatepetl,  and  Iztaccipuatl,  its  brother  giant,  rise  about 
twenty  miles  to  the  left,  and  tower  to  a  height  of  7000  feet 
higher  than  where  the  spectator  is  standing,  though  owing 
to  the  bright  atmosphere  and  the  sun  shining  on  the  snow, 
it  seems  only  two  or  three  miles  distant.  The  whole  of  this 
beautiful  valley  is  hemmed  in  by  a  circle  of  stupendous,' 
rugged  and  dark  mountains,  the  rough  but  sublime  set 
ting  of  nature  to  one  of  her  most  inimitable  pictures,  and 
forming  a  most  perfect  combination  of  the  sublime  and 
beautiful. 

Seen  from  that  elevation,  the  valley  of  Mexico  is  a  most 
glorious  and  magnificent  sight,  but  "'tis  distance  lends 
enchantment  to  the  view,"  and  as  we  descend  into  it,  its 
beauties  vanish.  The  lakes  become  marshes,  the  fields  are 
not  cultivated,  the  villages  are  mud,  and  the  inhabitants 
wretched-looking  Indian  peons,  in  rags  and  squalid  misery. 
AVe  encamped  outside  of  a  small  town,  called  Chalco,  on 
the  lake  of  that  name,  and  near  the  left  edge  of  the  valley 


238  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

On  descending  the  hill,  where  we  lay  two  clays,  General 
Scott  in  the  meantime  having  reconnoitred  the  enemy's  forti 
fications  at  the  Penon,  decided  on  trying  if  another  way 
could  not  be  found  to  reach  the  city.  Colonel  Duncan  hav 
ing  satisfied  General  Scott  that  a  road  for  artillery  could  be 
cut  from  Chalco  to  Augustine,  General  North's  division 
moved  in  that  direction  on  the  15th,  followed  by  Twiggs's 
and  Pillow's.  We  marched  by  short  day's  stages  over  a 
terribly  bad  road,  and  on  the  18th  we  arrived  at  Augustine, 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  enemy's  position. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

San  Augustine — Reconnoissance — Guard-house  luxuries — A 
convivial  party — An  unexpected  interruption. 

Ox  arriving  at  San  Augustine  we  encamped  in  the  main 
plaza,  stretching  our  picket  -ropes  across  the  trees  that 
surrounded  it,  to  which  we  fastened  our  horses  by  the 
halters,  but  without  taking  off  their  harness  until  further 
orders.  A  large  force  of  the  enemy  had  left  San  Augustine 
shortly  before  we  arrived ;  they  had  some  intention  of  mak 
ing  a  stand,  and  opposing  our  entrance  to  the  village,  it  was 
said,  but  their  courage  had  gradually  oozed  out  as  we 
approached  over  the  adjacent  plain.  San  Augustine  is  a 
neat  little  town,  with  a  fine  old  church,  and  a  large  plaza 
well  ornamented  and  shaded  with  trees.  But  it  had  a  very 
deserted  appearance,  most  of  the  inhabitants  having  left  in 
consequence  of  the  anticipated  battle  to  be  fought  there,  or 
in  the  vicinity.  Only  a  few  had  stayed  in  charge  of  goods 
and  such  property  as  they  had  been  unable  to  remove  easily. 
This  was  the  first  place  in  which  I  had  seen  apples  since  I 
came  to  Mexico,  several  Indian  women  being  here  with 
baskets  of  them,  ripe,  mellow,  and  delicious.  As  these  pooi 
people  eagerly  exchanged  them  for  biscuits,  a  rapid  transfer  of 
the  contents  of  the  soldiers'  havresacs  and  their  baskets  speed 
ily  took  place,  to  the  mutual  satisfaction  of  the  parties.  I  ate 
a  couple  of  them,  and  I  do  not  think  I  ever  relished  an  apple 
so  much  before  or  since,  which  is  not  much  to  be  wondered 
at  considering  the  heat  and  thirst  of  the  few  days'  inarch 


240  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

preceding.  These  apples  were  very  abundant  in  the  neigh 
bourhood  of  San  Augustine,  where  I  saw  some  of  the  finest 
orchards  I  have -ever  seen ;  our  men  suffering  a  good  deal 
from  heat  and  thirst,  were  sometimes  tempted  to  indulge  in 
them  to  an  injurious  excess.  Indeed  our  surgeons  generally 
blamed  the  excessive  use  of  fruit  as  a  principal  cause  of  the 
mortality  of  the  troops  during  the  whole  campaign. 

After  the  return  of  a  party  who  had  been  reconnoitring 
the  enemy's  position,  and  found  them  strongly  entrenched 
on  the  side  of  a  hill  commanding  the  road  to  Mexico,  we 
received  orders  to  take  up  our  quarters  for  the  night  but  to 
hold  ourselves  in  readiness  for  a  sudden  call,  being  cautioned 
against  leaving  the  camp.  General  Scott  wished  to  know 
as  accurately  as  possible  the  strength  of  the  enemy's  position, 
before  hazarding^an  engagement,  a  desire  to  gain  a  victory 
with  the  smallest  possible  sacrifice  of  life,  being  a  decided 
characteristic  of  that  excellent  commander,  who  knew  that 
however  despicable  an  enemy  may  be  in  the  field,  he  may 
become  formidable  if  unwisely  attacked  while  strongly 
entrenched  and  fortified,  and  occupying  an  advantageous 
position.  Our  infantry  were  quartered  in  the  various  empty 
buildings  in  the  town  which  had  been  deserted  by  their 
owners,  while  our  captain  decided  that  our  company  should 
pitch  their  tents  in  the  plaza,  and  remain  there  with  our 
battery.  Our  horses  were  put  up,  however,  in  an  empty 
range  of  stables  at  one  end  of  the  plaza,  being  still  left  in 
harness  in  case  of  a  sudden  call  for  their  services.  A  guard 
of  twelve  men  and  a  corporal  having  been  ordered  by  the 
captain,  I  found  that  it  was  my  turn  to  mount  that  evening. 
Having  according  to  instructions  -posted  four  sentries,  one  on 
the  officers'  quarters,  one  on  the  horses,  and  two  on  the 
guns  and  ammunition  in  the  plaza,  I  marched  the  remainder 
of  the  guard  to  the  stable-yard,  where,  finding  a  butcher's 


GUARD-HOUSE    LUXURIES.  241 

shop  and  dwelling-house  empty,  but  locked-up,  we  very 
deliberately  forced  the  lock,  and  appropriated  the  building 
to  the  use  of  the  guard.  This  proceeding  of  ours  was 
strictly  in  order ;  but  even  if  it  had  been  rather  irregular,  the 
exigencies  of  the  case  might  almost  warrant  our  proceedings. 
It  had  begun  to  rain,  and  the  nights  at  that  season  and  in 
that  high  region  are  excessively  cold,  and  unless  we  had 
secured  a  building  of  some  sort  for  the  use  of  our  guard,  we 
should  have  suffered  from  cold  and  wet  during  the  whole 
night.  During  all  that  day  until  near  evening  we  expected 
an  immediate  engagement,  there  being  a  constant  cannonad 
ing  interchanged  between  the  enemy's  entrenchments  and 
our  heavy  field  battery.  This  firing  we  learned  was  in 
consequence  of  a  reconnoitring  party,  consisting  of  several 
engineer  officers,  having  been  observed  by  the  enemy,  who 
opened  a  fire  on  the  party,  killing  Captain  Thornton  of  the 
dragoons,  and  seriously  injuring  a  guide.  In  the  evening, 
the  firing  having  ceased,  strong  out-lying  piquets  were 
stationed  outside  of  the  town  of  San  Augustine,  and  we 
were  told  to  be  ready  for  an  attack  on  the  enemy's  position 
next  day. 

In  the  meantime  we  made  ourselves  very  comfortable  in 
our  guard-house,  having  kindled  a  large  fire  and  procured 
an  ample  supply  of  wood  to  last  during  the  night.  The 
butcher  had  left  a  quantity  of  sheep  skins,  which  were  per 
fectly  dry,  and  had  the  wool  on ;  these  being  laid  on 
benches,  or  even  on  the  floor,  formed  a  most  luxurious 
couch;  though  certainly  to  a  person  of  the  most  delicate 
olfactory  nerves,  I  believe  they  would  have  seemed  rather 
redolent  of  a  peculiar  odorous  effluvium,  exceedingly  sugges 
tive  of  dead  mutton.  But  that  was  a  trifle  compared  with 
the  grateful  softness  and  warmth  derived  from  lying  on 
them;  we  were,  therefore,  very  well  contented  with  our 

11 


242  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

quarters  for  the  night.  The  fact  of  the  malt  or  i:?,  that  in 
our  present  circumstances  small  favours  were  generally  very 
thankfully  accepted ;  cold,  hunger,  thirst,  mental  anxiety, 
and  bodily  suffering,  being  admirable  cures  for  fastidious 
ness.  The  rose  leaf  frets  the  Sybarite,  while  a  bundle  of 
straw  is  a  luxury  to  a  beggar,  or  a  parcel  of  rank-smelling 
sheepskins  to  a  poor,  tired  and  half-starved  soldier  upon  a 
campaign.  Having  found  a  large  copper  boiler  -on  the 
premises,  such  as  the  Mexican  butchers  use  to  melt  lard  in, 
some  one  suggested  that  as  we  had  a  good  fire  we  might 
have  a  supper  cooked  in  it  for  the  whole  guard.  This  was 
a  very  good  idea;  and  a  few  active  foragers  were  imme 
diately  despatched  on  a  secret  expedition  for  the  purpose  of 
levying  contributions  wherever  they  could  be  most  easily 
collected.  These  were  successful  beyond  expectation,  speedily 
returning  with  supplies  which  gave  us  anticipations  of  a 
feast  such  as  we  had  not  beheld,  except  in  dreams,  for  a 
long  time  previously.  After  an  inspection  of  the  slock  of 
provisions  on  hand,  with  the  very  handsome  additions  made 
by  our  active  and  highly-intelligent  party  of  foragers,  for 
which  they  received  high  commendations,  the  dish  which 
seemed  best  adapted  to  our  circumstances,  and  which  we 
agreed  to  have  cooked,  was  a  sort  of  gipsy  hodge-podge  or 
Salmagundi ;  in  fact  a  heterogeneous  omnigatherum  of  all 
come-at-able  comestibles.  In  the  first  place,  we  had  a 
quantity  of  biscuit,  the  proceeds  of  the  joint  contributions  of 
our  havresacs,  several  pounds  of  bacon  furnished  by  Go 
vernment,  having  been  procured  without  leave  asked  or 
obtained,  from  one  of  the  wagons  containing  supplies  for 
Uncle  Sam's  troops  ;  and  further  by  supplies  obtained  by  our 
party  of  foragers,  one  turkey,  two  fowls,  a  piece  of  mutton, 
some  potatoes,  chili  peppers,  tomatoes,  and  onions.  Tlieso 
various  ingredients  being  first  well  cleaned,  were  cut  into 


AN    EVENING    IN    THE    GUARD-HOUSE.  243 

pieces,  and  the  whole  compound  being  seasoned  with  salt 
and  pepper,  was  afterwards  boiled  in  the  huge  cauldron, 
which  was  propped  in  the  centre  of  the  floor  by  three  stones, 
fur  the  purpose  of  admitting  the  fire  under  it.  After  our 
potage  had  been  sufficiently  boiled,  we  resolved  on  inviting 
a  few  of  our  comrades  to  the  feast,  as  it  was  evident  that 
there  would  be  at  least  twice  as  much  as  we  could  consume, 
and  it  would  be  a  pity  that  any  of  our  delicious  fare  should 
be  lost.  Accordingly  every  one  bringing  a  comrade,  we 
soon  had  an  addition  of  ten  or  twelve  more  to  our  party, 
forming,  about  ten  o'clock  on  the  same  night,  a  snug  little 
party  of  about  twenty. 

Everything  went  off  admirably,  as  the  phrase  is.  The 
dish  or  the  mode  of  cooking  it  was  not  perhaps  the  most 
scientific,  yet  I  am  persuaded  from  the  celerity  with  which 
it  disappeared,  and  the  apparent  gusto  that  marked  the  pro 
cess,  that  it  was  relished  as  highly  and  gave  as  much  satis 
faction  as  if  it  had  been  the  most  elaborate  specimen  of 
artistic  cookery  ever  served  up  at  the  table  of  tb  d  most 
aristocratic  of  the  clubs  of  London.  The  hilarity  of  the 
evening  was  wonderfully  augmented  by  the  'addition  to  our 
company  of  those  comrades  who  had  been  invited ;  for 
several  of  them,  having  found  their  way  into  a  liquor  store 
in  the  evening,  had  filled  their  canteens  with  mezcal,  a  coarse 
and  not  very  palatable  spirituous  liquor,  but  highly  stimulat 
ing  and  intoxicating,  and  therefore  nectar  to  a  soldier  on 
occasions  like  the  present.  This  liquor  which  they  had 
brought  with  them,  they  now  produced  as  their  quota  to  the 
feast.  To  drink  ardent  spirits  when  upon  guard  is  strictly 
forbidden  by  the  rules  of  the  service, 'but  the  absurd  strict 
ness  of  the  prohibition  lenders  it  completely  null.  I  must 
say  that  in  the  whole  course  of  my  experience  I  never  knew 
or  heard  of  a  soldier  refusing  a  glass  of  spirits  while  OD 


244  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

guard,  on  the  ground  of  its  being  an  infringement  of  military 
discipline.  Paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  I  believe  that  the 
utmost  latitude  permitted  to  the  soldier  in  some  of  these 
matters,  would,  by  producing  habits  of  self-control,  act  as  a 
far  better  preventive  to  the  crime  of  drunkenness  than  the 
present  system.  Unless  a  soldier  acquires  the  habit  of  self- 
control  as  regards  the  use  or  abuse  of  ardent  spirits,  (and  no 
person  has  greater  need  to  do  so),  prohibitions  and  threats 
of  punishment  are  rather  worse  than  useless — they  are  mis 
chievous  :  but  if  he  has  acquired  these  habits,  these  prohibi 
tions  are  not  needed. 

On  the  present  occasion,  however,  I  felt  that  there  was 
no  danger  of  any  of  the  present  company  rendering  them 
selves  unfit  for  duty,  as  we  were  all  well  aware  that  we  had 
work  before  us  next  day  .for  which  a  night's  debauch  would 
be  a  sorry  preparation.  I  have  observed  that  men,  careless 
of  consequences  on  other  occasions,  are  cautious  of  allowing 
themselves  to  become  intoxicated  before  an  expected  engage 
ment.  This  caution  on  the  part  of  the  soldier  probably 
arises  from  a  dread  of  the  imputation  of  cowardice,  and  a 
fear  of  losing  caste  among  his  comrades,  by  making  it  seem 
as  if  he  was  seeking  to  supply  a  deficiency  of  native  stamina 
and  nerve,  through  the  medium  of  a  foreign  and  artificial 
stimulus  and  excitement.  In  some  cases  also  it  may  be  the 
result  of  a  knowledge  of  the  dangers  of  too  free  indulgence 
at  a  time  when  all  require  the  perfect  use  of  their  faculties 
for  the  performance  of  their  duties.  Soldiers  are  mostly 
keenly  sensitive  to  the  ridicule  of  their  companions,  whose 
good  opinion  they  generally  esteem  more  highly  than  that 
of  their  officers.  To  stand  well  in  the  estimation  of  his 
special  comrades,  and  of  the  company  to  which  he  belongs, 
is  the  most  powerful  incentive  to  the  soldier's  good  conduct 
in  the  field  of  action ;  and  in  the  absence  of  a  brave  office? 


MILITARY    REMEDY    FOR    INTEMPERANCE.  245 

to  lead  them  to  the  attack,  the  love  of  Bill,  Tom,  or  Harry's 
approbation,  or  the  dread  of  being  called  a  coward,  has  often 
been  the  means  of  gaining  the  battle. 

The  following  characteristic  anecdote,  which  is  highly 
illustrative  of  that  fear  of  an  imputation  of  cowardice  by  his 
comrades,  which  is  such  a  marked  trait  in  the  soldier's 
character,  and  which  seems  to  have  been  turned  to  excellent 
account  in  the  present  instance,  I  heard  related  by  one  of 
ours  who  had  served  in  the  British  Legion  during  the  late 
Spanish  war.  A  regiment  of  the  British  Legion,  who  wera 
notorious  for  their  too  ardent  devotion  to  Bacchus,  unluckily 
for  their  health  and  discipline,  happened  to  be  quartered  in 
a  vicinity  where  brandy  was  too  plentiful  and  easily  procured. 
The  colonel,  being  made  aware  of  the  case,  tried  several 
remedies  without  effect,  and  finally,  he  saw  that,  unless  the 
men  were  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  voluntary  abstinence, 
no  precaution  that  he  could  adopt  would  prevent  his  regi 
ment  from  getting  into  a  state  of  utter  inefficiency.  To  add 
to  his  difficulties,  he  expected  every  day  that  they  would 
have  to  join  in  an  attack  on  the  enemy's  position,  close  to 
which  the  army  lay,  and  he  was  afraid  that  if  things  con 
tinued  to  go  on  in  the  way  they  were  doing,  both  he  and 
his  regiment  would  reap  nothing  but  disgrace.  In  this 
emergency  he  issued  an  order  to  his  men,  stating  that  he 
expected  an  engagement  with  the  engmy  shortly,  and  that 
he  trusted  the  men  would  see  the  propriety  of  keeping  them 
selves  sober  until  after  the  battle.  For  his  own  part  he  had 
come  to  the  resolution,  that  any  person  of  his  regiment  who 
should  be  reported  drunk  to  him  in  the  interval  between 
the  issuing  of  the  order  and  the  expected  engagement,  should 
be  left  tied  in  the  camp  along  with  the  baggage  until  after 
it  should  be  over.  The  fear  of  this  dreaded  disgrace  operat 
ed  like  a  charm ;  and  though  the  action  did  not  take  place 


246  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

for  near  a  fortnight  after,  there  was  not  a  single  case  of 
drunkenness  during  the  interval,  and  his  regiment  was  highly 
praised  for  its  share  in  the  action,  in  which  the  enemy  were 
completely  routed. 

To  return  to  our  convivial  party  in  the  guard-house,  songs 
and  toasts  began  to  circulate  with  the  aquadiente,  while  the 
expected  battle  of  next  day  engrossed  a  considerable  share 
of  the  conversation.  "  Come,  my  lads,"  said  Corporal  Bell,  a 
north  of  Ireland  man,  who  spoke  in  a  broad  Scotch  dialect, 
"here's  a  toast — May  the  balls  be  divided  to-morrow,  the 
same  as  the  pay  and  the  honour."  "  Bravo  !  Corporal  Bell's 
fiong — a  song  from  Corporal  Bell,  'Bucking  and  Gagging,'  "* 
shouted  a  dozen  voices  at  once.  "  I  say,  boys,"  expostulated 
a  sentry,  looking  in,  "  you  had  better  not  make  just  so  much 
noise  if  you  don't  want  the  officer  of  the  day  here."  "  Ay, 
faith,  freen,  ye're  no  for  wrong,"  said  Corporal  Bell,  while 
handing  him  the  canteen;  ''here,  man,  take  a  drap  o'  that 
to  keep  the  could  frae  ye'r  stomach.  I  say,  lads,"  he  con 
tinued,  addressing  the  party,  "  we  had  better  ca'  canny,  or 
faith,  we'll  maybe  hae  some  bucking  and  gagging  instead  o' 
singing  aboot  it."  "  Is  it  the  night  before  a  fight,"  cries 
Mike  Ryan ;  "  by  the  holy  fist  of  the  blessed  Saint  Patrick, 
the  mean  schaming  villians,  that  are  so  ready  to  ill  use  a 
poor  devil  at  other  times,  are  mighty  kind  an'  civil  them 
days.  The  devil  a  taste  o'  fear  of  any  bucking  an'  gagging 
for  this  night  any  way ;  so,  if  you  plase,  Corporal  Bell,  just 
favour  the  present  company  with  a  few  verses."  "Weel, 
lads,  I'll  just  sing  you  a  verse  or  twa  aboot  bucking  an' 
gagging,  an'  then  we  maun  toddle  awa'  an'  tak'  a  bit  sleep, 
an'  be  ready  for  our  work  in  the  morning."  So  saying  ho 

*  A  favourite  mode  of  punishment  in  the  American  service. — See 
Chapter  XXV. 


BUCKING    AND    GAGGING.  247 

commenced,  in  a  good  sonorous  but  subdued  voice,  to  sing 
the  following  verses:  — 

Come,  all  Yankee  soldiers,  give  ear  to  my  song, 
It  is  a  short  dit-ty,  'twill  not  keep  you  long  ; 
It's  of  no  use  to  fret  on  account  of  our  luck, 
We  can  laugh,  drink,  and  sing  yet  in  spite  of  the  buck. 

Deny  down,  ttc. 

"Sergeant,  buck  him,  and  gag  him,"  our  officers  cry, 
For  each  trifling  offence  which  they  happen  to  spy ; 
Till  with  bucking  and  gagging  of  Dick,  Tom,  and  Bill, 
Faith,  the  Mexican  ranks  they  have  helped  to  fill. 

Deny  down,  <fec. 

The  treatment  they  give  us,  as  all  of  us  know, 
Is  bucking  and  gagging  for  whipping  the  foe ; 
They  buck  us  and  gag  us  for  malice  or  spite, 
But  they're  glad  to  release  us  when  going  to  fight. 

Deny  down,  etc. 

A  poor  soldier's  tied  up  in  the  sun  or  the  rain, 
With  a  gag  in  his  mouth  till  he's  tortured  with  pain; 
Why  I'm  bless'd,  if  the  eagle  we  wear  on  our  flag, 
In  its  claws  shouldn't  carry  a  buck  and  a  gag. 

Deny  down,  <fec. 

"  What  the  devil  is  that  ?"  cried  several  voices  at  once,  as 
a  loud  rumbling  noise  resembling  thunder,  was  heard.  On 
opening  the  guard-room  door  the  cause  was'  soon  apparent. 
The  place  where  we  had  stabled  our  horses  was  an  old 
.  ickety  shed,  witli  a  shingle  roof  supported  by  three  rows 
of  wooden  posts,  one  on  each  sido  of  the  shed  and  one  in 
the  centre.  Running  along  the  centre  of  the  shed,  there 
was  a  long  wooden  trough  to  which  our  horses  were  fastened 
by  the  halters;  several  of  the  horses  had  been  fastened  to 


248  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

the  posts  also,  which  being  rotten  had  given  way,  and  a 
large  portion  of  the  roof  having  fallen  in  on  tlve  top  of  tho 
horses,  they  were  kicking  up  a  complete  rumpus.  A  sentry, 
who  was  over  the  horses,  was  also  jammed  in  among  them, 
and  we  were  afraid  he  would  be  injured.  Cautioning  him 
to  remain  quiet  a  little  until  we  got  a  light,  we  speedily 
procured  a  lanthorn,  and  succeeded  in  extricating  him  safely, 
and  also  in  unfastening  and  leading  out  the  most  entangled 
among  the  horses.  Still  as  it  was  necessary  to  remove  all  the 
horses  to  some  other  place,  it  being  evident  that  the  remain 
der  of  the  shed  would  be  pulled  down  if  it  were  not  speedily 
done,  I  thought  best  to  acquaint  the  officer  of  the  day.  I, 
therefore,  sent  one  of  the  guard  to  his  quarters  to  tell  him  the 
condition  of  the  shed,  and  to  ask  for  instructions  as  to  where 
the  horses  should  be  taken  to.  The  officer  sent  word  back 
to  have  the  whole  company  roused  and  turned  out,  and  that 
he  would  be  over  presently  himself.  Accordingly  in  a  few 
minutes  he  arrived,  and  having  given  directions  to  stretch 
the  picket  rope  in  the  plaza,  and  lead  the  horses  out  and 
fasten  them  to  it,  in  less  than  half-an-hour  everything  was 
right  again.  On  examining  the  horses,  several  of  them 
were  found  to  have  received  slight  injuries,  but  nothing  to 
render  them  unfit  for  duty  next  day.  ,  Our  party  having 
been  thus  suddenly  dissolved  did  not  assemble  again,  and 
desirous  of  recruiting  my  strength  for  the  next  day,  I  lay 
down  to  sleep. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

The  field  of  battle — King's  Mill— The  Execution — The  pursuit. 

NEXT  morning  about  5  o'clock  we  were  roused  by  the  reveille 
bugle,  and  having  fed  our  horses  and  taken  breakfast,  we 
were  ordered  to  harness  the  horses,  and  hitch  them  in  the 
carriages.  Regiments  of  infantry  continued  to  arrive  and 
form  in  the  Plaza  until  it  and  the  adjacent  streets  were 
crowded,  and  between  7  and  8  o'clock  our  force  consisting 
of  about  five  thousand  infantry,  two  light  batteries,  and  a 
squadron  of  dragoons,  began  the  march  for  Contreras.  The 
ground  occupied  by  the  enemy  had  been  well  reconnoitred 
on  the  previous  day ;  they  were  entrenched  on  the  side  of  a 
hill  on  the  left  hand  side  of  the  road  leading  to  the  city 
where  they  had  thrown  up  embankments  of  earth,  and  had. 
a  strong  battery  of  very  heavy  guns.  As  it  was  evident  that 
to  go  by  the  main  road  would  expose  us  to  the  fire  of  this 
battery,  which  we  had  no  means  of  returning  with  effect, 
General  Scott  had  decided  on  approaching  their  p9sition  by 
a  circuitous  route.  We  therefore  commenced  our  march 
down  a  country  road,  leading  through  orchards  and  corn 
fields,  while  a  great  deal  of  caution  was  used  in  advancing, 
the  division  being  halted  every  few  minutes  and  skirmishers 
sent  out  in  front  and  on  the  flanks.  At  last  after  ascending 
a  steep  hill  where  we  had  some  difficulty  with  our  battery, 
having  to  get  a  regiment  of  infantry  writh  drag  ropes  to  assist 
us  in  bringing  up  our  guns  and  caissons,  we  came  in  sight 
of  the  enemy.  We  halted  within  two  or  three  miles  of  them, 

11* 


250  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

% 

while  General  Scott  and  his  staff  ascended  a  hill  on  our 
right  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  good  view  of  their  posi 
tion.  After  resting  about  ten  minutes  we  received  the  order 
to  move  on  to  the  attack.  The  Rifles  and  another  infantry 
regiment,  were  directed  to  drive  in  a  body  of  skirmishers 
occupying  a  cornfield  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  front  of  the 
enemy's  position,  and  between  us  and  them.  Our  battery 
was  to  go  on  at  the  same  time,  and  take  up  a  position  where 
it  could  annoy  the  enemy.  When  we  came  to  the  edge  of 
the  cornfield,  to  admit  our  battery  we  had  to  pull  down  a 
piece  of  wall  built  of  large  pieces  of  lava  piled  on  one 
another  in  the  manner  in  which  they  build  dry  stone  walls, 
or  what  are  called  in  Scotland  dry  stane  dykes.  While  we 
were  busily  engaged  in  pulling  down  the  wall,  which  took 
us  a  few  minutes,  as  the  heavy  masses  of  lava  required 
several  men  to  roll  them  one  by  one  out  of  the  way,  the 
enemy  commenced  throwing  large  shells,  a  few  of  which 
dropped  very  near,  but  fortunately  without  doing  us  any 
injury.  In  the  mean  time  General  Twiggs,  who,  being  in 
rear  a  little,  did  not  perceive  the  cause  of  this  delay,  rode  up, 
calling  out,  "  Captain  Magruder,  why  don't  you  go  forward 
with  the  battery  ?"  "  So  I  will,  general,  as  soon  as  my  men 
can  remove  a  piece  of  the  wall  which  our  battery  is  surely 
not  expected  to  clear  at  a  flying  leap,"  was  the  reply  of  the 
captain.  "  Well,  where  are  the  rifles  ?"  the  general  asked, 
"  why  dont  they  drive  in  those  Mexican  vagabonds ;  forward 
with  the  rifles ;  forward  with  the  rifles  ;  we  must  either  make 
a  spoon  or  spoil  a  horn  this  day."  "  Faith  I  doot  some  'o 
us  '11  no  hae  muckle  mair  use  for  a  spoon  after  this  day's 
wark's  ower,"  drily  remarked  a  Scotchman  belonging  to  the 
rifles,  who  was  helping  to  clear  the  way  for  our  battery. 
The  rifles,  and  the  other  infantry  regiment,  scrambled  over 
the  wall  as  our  battery  began  to  move,  and  were  soon  busily 


A    GAME    AT    LONG    BOWLS.  251 

engaged  with  the  enemy,  whose  balls  came  whistling  among 
us,  wounding  two  of  our  riders,  who  had  to  fall  to  the 
reat'. 

The  field  or  plain  over  which  we  were  advancing  is  strewed 
with  large  masses  of  lava.  Between  these  we  had  to  thread 
our  way  with  the  guns  and  caissons,  sometimes  brought  to 
an  abrupt  halt  by  a  mass  of  stubborn  rock,  over  which  we 
had  to  lift  the  carriages  as  if  over  a  wall,  the  men  lifting  at 
the  wheels  and  the  horses  whipped  to  their  utmost  exertions 
at  the  .same  time.  At  last  after  a  great  deal  of  exhausting 
fatigue  we  succeeded  in  planting  our  battery  in  front  of  the 
enemy,  in  a  place  where  we  could  produce  no  impression  on 
them  unless  they  came  out  of  their  entrenchments,  which 
they  showed  no  disposition  to  do.  Our  guns  were  planted 
on  a  slight  rise  in  front  of  the  enemy,  who  were  on  the  fuse 
of  a  rugged  hill  on  the  other  side  of  the  highway  to  Mexico, 
which  passed  nearly  close  to  their  breastworks.  Our  troops 
occupied  a  plain  covered  with  large  masses  of  lava,  that 
afforded  excellent  cover  to  infantry  in  skirmishing,  and  a 
deep  ravine  crossed  the  bottom  of  the  plain  close  to  the  road 
to  Mexico.  We  fired  twenty  or  thirty  rounds  at  bodies  of 
the  enemy  whom  we  could  see  drawn  up  as  if  they  expected 
us  to  assault  them  immediately  in  front,  but  I  think  we  must 
have  been  about  a  mile  from  them,  as  all  our  shots  seemed 
to  fall  short.  A  division  of  the  infantry  under  General 
Smith  and  Colonel  Riley  engaged  with  a  body  of  the  enemy ; 
they  kept  up  a  brisk  fire  of  musketry  all  afternoon,  but  with 
out  coming  to  close  quarters ;  the  enemy  would  not  leave 
their  entrenchments,  and  General  Scott,  it  was  evident, 
had  not  decided  on  the  best  mode  of  making  the  attack. 
The  heavy  guns  of  the  enemy,  among  which  were  several 
long  eighteens  and  twenty-four  pounders,  kept  up  an  inces 
sant  fire  during  the  whole  afternoon.  After  the  first  half 


252  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

hour  or  so,  the  captain  perceiving  that  our  guns  were  useless 
at  the  distance  we  were  from  the  enemy,  ordered  us  to  cease 
firing,  bring  our  guns  down  off  the  elevation  they  were 
placed  on,  and  lie  down  on  the  ground.  By  this  time  one 
of  our  officers,  Lieutenant  Johnstone,  was  mortally  wounded 
by  a  cannon  ball,  and  another  poor  fellow  called  Flentitz,  a 
German,  had  his  leg  shot  off.  Another  cannon  ball  smashed 
the  axle  of  one  of  our  pieces,  dismounting  it  and  rendering 
it  useless  for  the  time,  while  two  of  our  horses  were  killed, 
and  a  number  of  our  men  and  horses  injured  by  grape. 
They  were  now  beginning  to  get  our  range,  and  nothing  but 
their  excessively  bad  firing  had  saved  our  battery  from  being 
totally  annihilated  during  the  half  hour  in  which  we  had 
served  as  a  target,  while  it  was  evident  that  our  six-pounders 
were  useless.  We  lay  therefore  completely  inactive  during 
the  remainder  of  the  afternoon,  under  cover  of  the  rising 
ground  on  which  our  battery  had  been  placed.  Indeed  only 
a  small  portion  of  our  troops  were  engaged,  and  I  suspect 
the  whole  affair  of  the  afternoon  was  only  a  feint  for  the 
purpose  of  discovering  the  easiest  plan  of  assault. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  engagement,  and  as  we  wero 
all  busily  employed  in  the  loading  and  firing  our  guns,  an 
infantry  sergeant  passing  within  a  short  distance  of  our 
battery,  was  observed  to  -drop  suddenly  as  if  he  had  been 
struck  by  a  shot.  After  the  firing  was  over  some  of  the  men 
went  to  see  if  he  was  dead,  or  if  any  assistance  could  be 
rendered  him.  He  appeared  to  have  been  dead  for  some  time, 
but  there  was  no  mark  of  a  wound  on  any  part  of  his  body. 
A  small  quantity  of  blood  came  from  his  mouth,  nostrils,  and 
even  from  his  ears,  and  it  was  supposed  that  a  large  ball 
passing  close  to  his  head  had  caused  his  death. 

At  sunset  the  firing  ceased  and  a  heavy  cold  rain  succeeded, 
lasting  the  whole  of  that  night,  and  making  it  a  most  wretched 


A  HARD  NIGHT'S  WORK.  253 

\ 

night  for  a  bivouac.  To  add  to  our  misfortunes  we  were 
all  suffering  grievously  from  thirst,  and  there  was  no  water 
within  a  mile  whereof  we  were.  About  nine  o'clock  our 
captain  received  an  order  to  retire  on  the  division  by  the 
same  way  in  which  we  had  come.  This  was  very  foolish,  as 
the  night  was  so  dark  that  it  was  impossible  to  see  a  yard  in 
front.  But  orders  whether  foolish  or  not  must  be  obeyed, 
though  it  is  hard  to  hinder  soldiers  from  grumbling,  and 
there  was  plenty  of  it  at  this  order,  of  which  every  one  saw 
the  absurdity.  At  last  our  men  having  been  collected  from 
various  nooks  and  corners,  and  our  guns  limbered  up,  wo 
commenced  our  singular  march  to  the  rear.  After  toiling 
for  about  six  hours,  and  breaking  and  damaging  the  wheels 
and  carriages,  and  utterly  exhausting  both  men  and  horses 
in  trying  to  force  the  wheels  over  impracticable  masses  of 
lava,  we  were  compelled  to  desist  after  moving  about  four 
or  five  hundred  yards.  We  then  sat  or  lay  down  on  the 
grass,  our  clothes  clinging  to  us  with  wet,  and  the  rain  still 
pouring,  yet  so  thoroughly  were  we  tired  with  our  fruitless 
toil  that  we  slept  soundly  for  two  or  three  hours.  We  were 
roused  at  day-break  and  continued  our  march  to  the  rear 
with  comparative  ease,  as  we  now  could  distinguish  objects 
for  a  few  yards  round  us,  and  before  sunrise  we  had  gained 
Jie  division. 

The  rain  had  now  ceased,  and  about  ten  minutes  after  oia* 
arrival  at  the  division  several  shots  were  heard  from  the 
enemy's  battery  followed  by  a  brisk  fire  of  musketry.  On 
getting  up  on  the  top  of  our  caisson  boxes  we  could  see  a 
body  of  infantry  approaching  the  flank  nearest  San  Augus 
tine  of  the  enemy's  position.  They  advanced  at  a  quick 
pace  loading  and  firing  as  they  advanced,  and  receiving  a  fire 
of  musketry  from  the  Mexican  infantry.  But  none  of  the 
guns  of  the  battery  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  them ;  the 


254  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

Mexicans  had  been  completely  taken  by  surprise,  never  having 
dreamed  of  an  assault  in  that  direction.  As  our  infantry 
approached  within  a  hundred  or  two  hundred  yards  of  their 
breastworks,  we  could  see  the  Mexicans  break  and  run  in  the 
utmost  confusion,  scrambling  over  the  breastworks  and  out 
on  the  road  to  Mexico.  Such  was  the  battle  of  Contreras ; 
and  the  time  occupied  in  the  assault,  in  which  about  two 
hundred  volunteers  and  half  disciplined  soldiers,  routed  thrice 
their  number  of  Mexican  troops  stationed  behind  formidable 
entrenchments,  was  about  five  minutes. 

The  brigade  of  General  Smith,  principally  composed  of 
volunteers,  have  the  credit  of  this  assault.  These  troops 
had  been  marched  by  a  long  and  difficult  route  in  the  wet 
dark  night  to  a  position  where  they  lay  ready  to  flank  and 
surprise  the  enemy  as  soon  as  it  became  sufficiently  light  for 
operations.  Colonel  Riley  and  General  Smith  led  their  men 
gallantly  to  the  assault,  which  cost  the  assaulting  party  a 
merely  trifling  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  compared  with 
the  enemy,  who  are  said  to  have  had  upwards  of  TOO  killed 
on  the  field.  About  1800  prisoners  were  taken,  and  eighteen 
guns,  besides  an  immense  quantity  of  ammunition. 

The  whole  of  our  troops  were  immediately  put  in  motion 
to  follow  up  the  success  by  pursuing  the  flying  enemy, 
towards  the  city  of  Mexico.  As  for  our  battery  our  captain 
considered  it  necessary  to  allow  the  horses  a  rest,  as  they  were 
so  weak  from  the  exertions  of  the  previous  day  and  night, 
that  they  could  scarcely  stand.  We  remained  therefore  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Contreras  until  the  afternoon,  most  of 
the  men  lying  on  the  grass,  and  sleeping  undisturbed  by  the 
ceaseless  booming  of  the  cannon  and  roll  of'musketry  which 
told  us  of  another  engagement  four  or  five  miles  in  front. 

About  five  miles  from  Confreres  on   flip  liin-V,«-o-,-  f~  ^- 


FATE    OF    THE    DESERTERS.  ^o5 

Churubusco.  This,  our  division,  which  had  followed  up  the 
flying  enemy  from  Contreras,  assisted  General  Worth's  divi 
sion  in  carrying  after  an  obstinate  resistance,  which  lasted 
five  or  six  hours.  The  loss  suffered  by  our  army  at  this 
battle  of  Churubusco  amounted  to  500  in  killed  and  wounded, 
of  whom  a  more  than  usual  proportion  were  officers.  The 
regiment  to  which  I  belonged  had  fiv.e  officers  killed  and 
several  wounded  in  this  engagement ;  among  the  killed  were 
Captains  Burke  and  Caprori,  the  former  of  whom  enlisted 
me,  the  latter  had  charge  of  the  company  to  which  I  be 
longed  until  promoted  a  few  months  before  to  the  captaincy 
of  another  company.  Among  the  prisoners  taken  at  this 
engagement  were  seventy  deserters  from  the  American  army. 
They  were  tried  by  a  general  Court  Martial  shortly  after  the 
battle,  and  being  found  guilty  of  the  crime  of  desertion  were 
sentenced  to  be  hung,  which  sentence  was  carried  into  exe 
cution  in  presence  of  a  portion  of  the  troops  shortly  before 
we  entered  the  city.  I  sincerely  pitied  these  poor  fellows, 
many  of  whom  I  had  reason  to  believe  had  been  driven  to 
the  foolish  step  they  had  taken  by  harsh  and  cruel  usage, 
operating  on  a  sensitive  and  excitable  temperament.  The 
barbarous  treatment  which  soldiers  sometimes  received  from 
ignorant  and  brutal  officers,  and  non-commissioned  officers, 
on  that  campaign,  were  I  to  relate  it  in  minute  detail,  would 
seem  almost  incredible.  I  have  frequently  seen  foolish  young 
officers  violently  strike  and  assault  soldiers  on  the  most  slight 
provocation ;  while  to  tie  them  up  by  the  wrist,  as  high  as 
their  hands  would  reach,  with  a  gag  in  their  mouths,  was  a 
common  punishment  for  trivial  offences.  In  fact  such  a  bad 
state  of  feeling  seemed  to  exist  between  men  and  officers 
throughout  the  service  that  I  was  not  surprised  that  it  should 
lead  to  numerous  desertions.  If  our  men  had  not  known 
how  utterly  wretched  was  the  condition  of  soldiers  in  the 


250  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

Mexican  service,  deserting  to  which  was  literally  jumping 
out  of  the  frying-pan  into  the  fire,  I  believe  that  numerous 
as  these  desertions  were  they  would  have  been  infinitely 
more  so.  These  deserters  were  considered  a  principal  cause 
of  the  obstinate  resistance  which  our  troops  met  at  Churu- 
busco,  two  or  three  attempts  of  the  Mexicans  to  hoist  a  Avhite 
flag  having  been  frustrated  by  some  of  them,  who  killed  the 
Mexicans  attempting  to  display  it.  The  large  number  of 
officers  killed  in  the  affair  was  also  ascribed  to  them,  as  for 
the  gratification  of  their  revenge  they  aimed  at  no  other 
objects  during  the  engagement. 

In  the  evening  our  battery  moved  to  Churubusco,  and 
next  day  we  were  sent  along  with  our  division  to  a  small 
village  called  Miscoac,  about  two  miles  from  Churubusco, 
and  about  the  same  distance,  four  miles,  from  the  city. 
There  we  were  quartered  in  one  end  of  a  church,  a  regiment 
of  infantry  called  Voltigeurs,  occupying  the  other  end.  A 
few  days  after  the  battle,  Santa  Anna  and  General  Scott 
agreed  to  an  armistice,  the  former  General  pretending  that 
he  was  inclined  to  come  to  terms  and  conclude  the  war  on 
the  basis  of  an  honourable  treaty  of  peace.  For  agreeing  to 
this  armistice  General  Scott  was  much  blamed  at  the  time 
by  many  of  the  men,  as  it  was  said  that  we  could  easily  have 
taken  the  city  if  we  had  followed  up  our  success  after  the 
battles  of  Contreras  and  Churubusco.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
we  could  have  done  so,  although  I  am  inclined  to  think  that 
the  difficulty  of  restraining  our  troops  from  the  commission 
of  excess,  would  have  been  much  greater  if  our  success  had 
been  followed  up  at  that  time.  A  collision  between  the  mass 
of  the  inhabitants  and  our  troops  in  that  case  would  most 
likely  have  ensued,  which  would  have  engendered  a  hostile 
spirit  of  opposition  that  might  have  embittered  and  prolonged 
the  war,  of  which  the  Americans  were  now  almost  as  tired  as 


AN    ARMISTICE.  257 

tlie  Mexicans.  By  snowing  a  desire  for  peace  after  these  vic 
tories,  he  secured  the  good  will  of  many  of  the  influential 
inhabitants,  and  I  believe  it  is  chiefly  owing  to  the  spirit  of 
conciliation  and  moderation  displayed  by  General  Scott 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  campaign  that  America  owes 
tlie  speedy  and  honourable  termination  of  the  war. 

The  principal  terms  of  the  armistice  were  that  neither 
army  should  erect  any  fortifications  nor  receive  any  reinforce 
ments  of  troops  without  giving  the  other  army  forty-eight 
hours'  notice.  Our  army  was  also  to  be  furnished  with 
supplies  of  provisions  and  forage  from  the  city.  But  Santa 
Anna,  who  only  wanted  to  gain  time,  had  thousands  of 
soldiers  employed  in  digging  ditches  and  making  fortifica 
tions  of  earth  at  various  points  of  the  city,  parties  of  them 
working  day  and  night  under  his  own  direction.  About  the 
fourth  or  fifth  of  August  a  party  of  our  waggons,  in  agree 
ment  with  one  of  the  conditions  of  the  armistice,  having 
been  sent  into  the  city  for  supplies  of  forage  and  provisions, 
the  drivers  were  attacked  by  a  crowd  of  people  with  stones, 
and  a  number  of  them  severely  injured.  A  party  of  Mexican 
soldiers  were  tardily  sent  to  their  rescue,  who  protected  them 
out  of  the  city.  General  Scott  now  declared  the  armistice 
to  be  at  an  end. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  August,  General  Worth's  divi 
sion,  which  was  quartered  at  Tacubaya,  according  to  orders, 
previously  received,  proceeded  to  make  an  attack  on  Molino 
del  Rey  (The  King's  mill).  The  enemy,  it  was  believed,  had  a 
foundry  for  casting  cannons  there,  besides  a  great  quantity 
of  military  stores.  It  was  also  considered  necessary  to  have 
it  i-n  possession  before  proceeding  to  the  reduction  of  Chapul- 
tepec,  to  which  it  formed  a  strong  outwork.  The  attack 
commenced  a  little  before  sunrise,  but  the  enemy  having 
been  informed  of  this  early  visit,  had  drawn  all  their  troops 


258  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

from  the  city  during  the  night,  who  were  posted  in  the  most 
advantageous  manner.  Accordingly  on  the  advance  of  oui 
troops  they  received  a  most  destructive  fire,  which  compelled 
them  to  foil  back,  leaving  the  field  covered  with  their  killed 
and  wounded.  The  Mexican  lancers  exhibited  most  charac 
teristically  both  their  cowardice  and  cruelty  of  disposition 
on  this  occasion,  by  riding  out  and  killing  the  wounded  who 
were  lying  on  the  field,  while  they  never  attempted  to  follow 
up  the  broken  line  of  infantry  who  had  been  compelled  to 
retire.  But  our  troops  though  discouraged  were  not  beaten, 
and  after  a  fight  of  two  hours,  the  Mexicans,  wlio  were  at 
least  four  times  their  number,  retreated,  leaving  them  in 
possession  of  the  field.  The  victory,  though  proving  the 
immense  superiority  of  our  troops  to  those  of  the  enemy, 
was  a  •  dear  one,  our  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  being 
between  eight  and  nine  hundred  out  of  a  force  engaged 
numbering  little  more  tliaL  three  thousand. 

About  an  hour  after  the  commencement  of  the  action  our 
battery  was  ordered  to  be  got  ready  and  to  hurry  out  to  the 
ground.  Miscoac,  where  we  lay,  is  about  four  miles  from 
Molino  del  Jttey^and  the  road  being  rough  and  up  hill  a 
good  part  of  the  way,  it  took  us  nearly  an  hour  to  reach  it. 
One  of  our  men  not  holding  on  firmly  while  galloping  over 
the  rough  road  was  thrown  off  the  caisson  box,  and  a  wheel 
passing  over  his  body  broke  two  or  three  of  his  ribs  and 
otherwise  severely  injured  him.  But  our  battery  was  short 
of  men,  and  the  captain  could  spare  nobody  to  attend  him,  so 
he  was  left  by  the  roadside  in  a  seemingly  dying  state.  He 
recovered,  however,  and  was  discharged  in  consequence'  of 
the  internal  injuries  he  had  received.  As  we  entered  the 
battle  ground  we  met  a  number  of  waggons  returning  with 
wounded,  and  a  few  wounded  soldiers  walking  slowly,  assist 
ed  by  one  or  two  comrades.  There  was  an  occasional  gun 


MOLIXO    DEL    KEY.  259 

fired  from  the  castle  of  Chapultepec,  and  a  party  of  our 
infantry  kept  up  a  skirmishing  fire  with  a  few  of  the  enemy 
who  wore  in  the  woods  round  the  hill  on  which  the  castle 
is  built,  but  the  battle  was  evidently  over.  We  unlimbered 
our  guns  and  fired  several  shots  at  a  large  body  of  lancers 
wlio  were  hovering  on  our  left  flank,  when  they  suddenly 
wheeled  to  the  right-about.  "  I  wish,  captain,  you  would  let 
them  come  a  little  nearer  the  next  time;  you  scared  them 
rather  too  soon,"  said  General  Cadwallader,  who  came  up 
as  the  lancers  rode  off.  A  powder  magazine  belonging  to 
the  enemy,  but  in  our  possession  at  the  time,  blew  up  with  a 
tremendous  explosion,  killing  and  wounding  a  great  number 
of  our  men  who  were  in  its  vicinity.  We  remained  on  the 
fit-Id,  with  several  regiments  of  infantry  and  cavalry,  until 
about  noon,  when  we  received  orders  to  retire. 

'On  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  August  our  battery  moved 
along  with  General  Pillow's  division  to  the  field  of  Molino 
del  R''y ;  our  division  being  stationed  there  for  the  purpose 
of  protecting  a  heavy  battery  advantageously  planted  in  the 
vicinity  for  the  bombardment  of  Chapultepec.  This  castle,  a 
strong  stone  building,  well  furnished  with  artillery  and  am 
munition,  is  built  on  the  top  of  an  insulated  rocky  hill, 
wooded  from  the  base  about  half  way  up.  As  it  commanded 
the  entrance  to  the  city  on  that  side,  it  was  considered  essen 
tial  that  it  should  be  taken.  At  daybreak  on  the  morning 
of  the  12th,  our  mortars  opened  on  it  and  continued  to 
throw  heavy  shells  into  it  until  night,  by  which  time  the 
havoc  among  the  troop  inside  must  have  been  very  great, 
judging  from  the  appearance  of  the  building  after  the  action. 
After  the  firing  had  ceased  in  the  evening  General  Pillow 
addressed  his  men,  telling  them  that  they  were  to  assault 
the  castle  early  next  morning,  when  he  said  he  had  no  doubt 
they  would  easily  carry  it  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  in  less 


260  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

than  half  an  hour;  which  intimation  the  soldiers  received 
with  three  cheers. 

The  duty  assigned  our  battery  was  to  approach  the  -bottom 
of  the  hill  of  Chapultepec  and  throw  in  shells  and  round 
shot  into  the  wood  and  up  the  face  of  the  hill,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  driving  in  the  enemy  and  affording  a  footing  to  our 
assaulting  party.  .  We  accordingly  placed  our  guns  that 
evening  in  the  position  they  were  to  occupy  next  morning, 
and  shortly  after  sunrise  we  received  orders  to  commence 
firing.  An  ill-directed  fire  of  musketry  from  the  enemy's 
outlying  piquets  stationed  in  the  woods,  reached  us  as  we 
commenced  firing,  slightly  wounding  several  of  our  men. 
But  a  few  shells  thrown  in  the  right  direction  soon  removed 
that  source  of  annoyance,  and  where  we  were  the  guns  of 
the  castle  could  not  be  depressed  sufficiently  to  bear  on  us. 
We  continued  to  fire  until  we  had  thrown  over  a  hundred 
shots  into  the  grounds,  when  we  were  told  to  cease  firing  and 
allow  the  infantry  to  advance.  Two  or  three  regiments  of 
infantry,  among  whom  I  recognised  the  regiment  of  Volti- 
geurs  who  had  been  stationed  with  us  in  the  church  since  the 
battle  of  Contreras,  now  advanced,  some  of  them  carrying  a 
ladder  between  two  of  them  besides  their  guns  and  bayonets. 
To  get  into  the  grounds  they  had  to  scale  a  wall  about  six  or 
seven  feet  high,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  ladders  they  were 
soon  all  over,  and  advancing  under  cover  of  the  huge  trees 
towards  the  open  rocky  ground  half  way  up  the  hill. 

While  the  action  was  going  on  here  at  Chapultepee,  a 
strangely  horrible  scene  was  being  enacted  under  General 
Twiggs  at  Miscoac,  the  small  town  in  which  our  division  had 
been  quartered  during  the  armistice.  Twenty  of  the  desert 
ers  who  were  taken  at  Churubusco  had  been  brought  out  on 
a  plain  for  execution,  General  Twiggs  commanding  the  troops 
appointed  to  witness  the  sentence  carried  into  effect.  From 


A    DOSE    OF    GRAPE.  261 

the  plain  where  they  were  to  be  executed  they  had  a  view  of 
the  castle  of  Chapultepec  about  three  miles  distant,  and 
could  hoar  the  sound  of  the  firing,  and  see  distinctly  the 
smoke  of  the  guns  and  muskets  of  its  defenders  and  assail 
ants,  and  here  they  were  launched  into  eternity. 

While  the  infantry  advanced  on  the  castle  we  hitched  the 
horses  into  the  battery  and  stood  waiting  to  pursue  the 
enemy,  who  we  were  confident  would  not  make  a  long  re 
sistance,  as  the  bombardment  of  the  previous  day  had  done 
great  execution  on  the  building.  The  firing  from  the  castle 
soon  commenced  on  our  assaulting  party,  who  at  first  suf 
fered  severely,  but  after  about  two  hours'  hard  fighting  they 
scaled  the  steep  ascent  and  drove  the  enemy  from  the  ram 
parts.  General  Bravo  and  several  hundred  of  the  Mexican 
soldiers  were  taken  prisoners  in  the  castle.  The  remainder 
of  the  garrison  escaped  by  the  opposite  side  of  the  castle 
from  which  our  troops  entered,  and  ran  in  confusion  along 
the  highway  to  the  city.  Just  as  we  commenced  to  follow 
in  pursuit,  a  shower  of  grape  from  the  castle  killed  two 
horses  and  wounded  several  others,  while  almost  miraculously 
their  riders  did  not  receive  the  slightest  injury.  The  shot 
came  from  a  gun  at  an  angle  of  the  castle,  which  continued 
to  fire  for  some  time  after  our  men  had  gained  the  ramparts, 
and  until  our  men  had  shot  down  the  most  of  those  who 
were  working  it.  This  delayed  our  Jjattery  several  minutes 
until  we  cut  the  harness  and  hauled  the  horses  to  one  side 
of  the  road.  Near  the  place  where  this  accident  occurred 
the  enemy  had  cut  a  trench  across  the  roacl,  which  delayed 
us  some  time  until  it  was  filled  up.  While  a  party  of  infan 
try  were  at  work  filling  up  the  trench,  two  citizens  of  the 
class  called  army  followers  rode  over  to  where  three  Mexican 
soldiers  were  endeavouring  to  conceal,  themselves  behind 
some  bashes  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  off  the  road.  The 


2'62  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

Mexicans,  wlio  were  probably  wounded  and  unable  to  fly 
with  tlie  rest  of  the  garrison,  got  upon  their  knees  in  the 
attitude  of  supplication,  when  these  inhuman  scoundrels 
deliberately  shot  them  down  by  firing  repeated  shots  of  their 
revolvers.  A  loud  murmur  of  disapprobation  at  this  atro 
ciously  savage  act  burst  from  the  soldiers  on  the  road  who 
observed  it,  and  a  ball  from  an  infantry  soldier's  musket 
whistled  past  their  ears  as  they  approached  the  road.  On 
their  return  they  received  a  shower  of  curses  and  epithets, 
showing  the  detestation  in  which  their  infamous  conduct  was 
held. 

The  ditch  being  filled  up  we  continued  the  pursuit  of  the 
flying  enemy,  and  as  we  went  at  a  fast  gallop  we  had  soon 
left  the  infantry  far  behind,  and  found  ourselves  entirely 
unsupported.  A  large  body  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  were 
now  perceived  advancing  on  us  from  the  city ;  we  imme 
diately  unlimbered  and  began  to  fire  shell  and  round  shot 
among  them  with  the  utmost  rapidity,  when  they  made 
a  precipitate  retreat.  Several  riderless  horses  scouring  wildly 
over  the  fields  on  our  left,  which  none  of  them  stayed  to 
catch,  and  which  were  valuable  prizes  to  some  of  our  infan 
try  afterwards,  showed  us  that  our  firing  had  made  an 
impression,  and  explained  the  reason  of  their  sudden  change 
of  purpose.  If  these  lancers  had  charged  us  boldly,  they 
could  have  cut  us  to  pieces  and  taken  possession  of  our 
battery  with  ease,  as  we  had  no  support  within  a  mile  of  us. 
Our  company  only  numbered  at  that  time  about  sixty  men, 
armed  with  sabres,  which  none  of  them  knew  how  to  use, 
and  which  would  have  been  a  poor  defence  against  their 
lances.  A  body  of  cavalry  and  infantry  arriving  soon  after, 
we  continued  our  march  until  we  arrived  at  the  suburbs  of 
the  city.  Here  our  battery  and  a  regiment  of  infantry  were 
posted  to  defend  a  road  leading  to  Toluco,  on  which  a  large 


ROUT    OF    THE    MEXICANS.  203 

body  of  tlio  enemy's  cavalry  liad  been  observed  moving  off 
in  the  morning.  Colonel  Duncan's  battery  and  a  regiment 
of  infantry  were  now  engaged  in  driving  the  enemy  from  the 
San  COMIIO  gate,  half  a  mile  nearer  the  city.  Here  the 
enemy  had  a  breastwork  of  earth  built  across  the  road, 
behind  which  were  two  nine-pounders.  There  was  also  a 
mortar  on  the  flat  roof  of  a  house  on  the  left  of  the  gate, 
several  shells  from  which  dropped  into  our  position,  killing 
and  wounding  a  number  of  the  infantry  stationed  with  us  to 
defend  the  entrance  to  the  city  from  Toluco.  This  was  also 
carried  after  two  or  three  hours'  fighting,  leaving  us  in  corn- 
id  ete  possession  of  that  entrance  to  the  city. 

Generals  Worth  and  Quitman  had  commenced  their  attack 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  city  early  in  the  morning,  and 
after  driving  the  enemy  from  several  of  their  outworks  in 
succession,  had  succeeded  after  a  severe  fight  in  carrying  the 
citadel  by  assault.  The  latter  was  the  enemy's  stronghold, 
where  they  had  a  strong  battery  of  heavy  guns,  and  after  it 
was  taken  the  Mexican  troops  retired  in  disorder  from  the 
city  by  the  Penon  and  Guadaloupe  gates,  having  utterly 
abandoned  all  idea  of  further  resistance.  Their  large  army 
of  18,000  men  was  now  completely  scattered  and  disorgan 
ized,  and  this  by  a  force  not  exceeding  one-third  of  their 
number,  acting  as  assailants,  and  having  to  drive  them  from 
strong  fortifications.  Santa  Anna,  according  to  his  usual 
custom,  retired  with  a  strong  body  of  cavalry  before  our 
troops  had  gained  possession  of  the  citadel.  He  has  not 
entered  the  capital  since,  and  I  question  if  all  his  cunning 
will  ever  be  sufficient  to  reinstate  him  in  the  good  opinions 
of  any  large  or  influential  class  of  his  countrymen  again. 
Some  desultory  fighting  took  place  on  the  following  day,  the 
14th,  between  our  troops  and  parties  of  patriots,  principally 
criminals  who  had  been  released  from  their  cells  and  sta 


0 
164  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

doned  in  the  steeples  of  churches  for  the  purpose.  These 
were  soon  quelled,  and  before  night  the  city  was  perfectly 
quiet,  and  considered  quite  securely  in  our  possession. 
General  Scott  entered  the  city  on  the  14th,  the  day  after  the' 
battle  of  Chapultepec  and  the  storming-  of  the  citadel.  By 
his  excellent  arrangements  in  quartering  his  troops  in  the 
suburbs  for  a  few  days,  he  succeeded  in  securing  order,  and 
preserving  his  men  from  those  excesses  which  might  have 
been  apprehended  from  the  description  of  troops  under  his 
command. 


CHAPTER  XXIY. 

Ravages  of  War — Entry  into  San  Cosmo — Character  of  the  popu 
lation — Markets — The  cemetery. 

WE  had  now  reached  the  halls  of  the  Montezumas,  and  still 
the  honourable  peace,  with  the  sole  design  of  conquering 
which  America  protested  she  had  taken  up  arms,  seemed  to 
elude  our  grasp.  The  legislative  body  had  retired  to  Quere- 
taro,  vowing  war  to  the  knife,  and  it  was  said  that  a  con 
siderable  portion  of  the  routed  army  had  collected  there  also. 
In  the .  meantime  they  were  fortifying  Queretaro,  and  pre 
paring  for  another  struggle  ;  and,  according  to  the  current 
opinion,  the  war,  so  far  from  being  ended,  was  only  just 
commencing.  But  just  at  present  the  patriots  might  debate, 
and  the  troops  might  fortify  at  their  leisure,  our  force  was 
small  enough  to  garrison  the  capital  without  marching  on 
new  conquests.  These  victories,  gained  with  ease,  if  one 
takes  into  account  the  number  of  the  enemy,  and  the 
advantages  of  their  position,  had  not  been  altogether  without 
cost.  In  the  short  space  of  six  weeks,  our  force  had  de 
creased  from  ten  thousand  effective  men  with  which  we  left 
Puebla,  to  little  more  than  six  thousand  on  entering  the  city 
of  Mexico.  In  the  various  actions  fought  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  city  during  that  time,  we  had  lost  in  killed  and  wounded 
upwards  of  two  thousand,  and  the  deaths  from  disease  and 
the  large  number  of  sick  reduced  our  total  effective  strength 
to  little  more  than  six  thousand.  In  our  short  campaign  of 
about,  a  year  and  a  half,  General  Scott's  expedition  alone,  it 

12 


266  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

is  said,  cost  the  lives  of  at  least  ten  thousand  men  ;  the  }  r ,>- 
portion  of  those  "who  died  of  sickness  being  as  four  to  one  of 
those  killed  or  who  died  in  consequence  of  wounds  received 
in  action.  I  saw  a  statement  in  an  American  paper  estimat 
ing1  the  loss  of  life  incurred  by  the  States  during  the  whole 
war  with  Mexico  at  thirty  thousand.  Five  thousand  of 
these  were  said  to  have  died  on  the  field  and  of  wounds 
received,  and  the  remainder  of  the  diseases  incidental  to  the 
campaign. 

Nearly  all  the  houses  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city  outside  of 
the  San  Cosmo  gate,  had  been  deserted  by  their  inhabitants, 
many  of  them  evidently  very  hurriedly,  as  they  still  con 
tained  quantities  of  furniture,  books,  pictures,  and  other 
valuable  articles.  A  number  of  wealthy  people  had  resided 
in  that  quarter,  the  only  suburb  containing  similar  residences 
in  the  city.  From  a  feeling  of  curiosity  I  entered  one  of 
these  houses  with  several  soldiers  beloninno-  to  our  batterv 

O        &  «/ 

on  the  morning  after  the  city  was  taken.  It  had  belonged 
to  a  General  of  the  Mexican  army,  whose  family  had  just 
quitted  it  when  they  sawT  the  Mexican  flag  pulled  down  from 
the  castle  of  Chapultepec.  A  number  of  oil  paintings, 
chiefly  on  religious  subjects,  and  a  large  collection  of  books 
in  the  Spanish  language  in  rich  bindings,  among  which  I 
recognised  Don  Quixote,  with  illustrations,  lay  scattered  in 
confusion  on  the  tables  and  floors,  with  the  litter  of  all  the 
drawers  in  the  apartment.  Among  other  articles  we  ob 
served  a  number  of  children's  dresses,  and  a  variety  of  toys 
and  dolls.  I  could  scarce  help  thinking  what  an  event  in 
those  children's  lives  who  were  old  enough  to  retain  the 
impression,  the  arrival  of  los  Americanos,  the  fightings  in 
the  vicinity,  and  their  hurried  flight  from  home  would  seem, 
when  they  grew  old.  It  will  form  a  theme  for  them  to  recur 
to  during  the  remainder  of  their  lives,  A  number  of  sol- 


THE    CAPTURED    CITY.  267 

diers,  most  of  whom  seemed  actuated,  by  curiosity  more  than 
love  of  acquisition,  strolled  through  the  different  apartments. 
Occasionally  a  soldier  would  select  a  few  articles,  intending 
to  carry  them  off,  but  on  reflecting  on  the  trouble  he  would 
have  in  taking  care  of  them,  they  were  again  pitched  down 
on  the  floor.  A  number  of  the  chairs  and  tables,  and  a  large 
mirror,  had  been  broken  in  sheer  wantonness  by  some  of  our 
men.  I  saw  one  fellow,  after  examining  admiringly  a  very 
handsome  cabinet  of  finely-polished  wood,  exquisitely  ve 
neered  and  inlaid  with  mother-of-pearl  and  ivory,  seize  a  leg 
of  a  broken  chair  and  deliberately  smash  it  to  pieces, 
exclaiming  at  the  same  time,  "  D — n  you,  if  I  can't  have 
von  nobody  else  shall." 

For  a  few  days  after  the  entrance  of  our  troops  into 
Mexico,  the  shops  were  all  closed,  with  the  exception  of  one 
here  and  there,  and  the  prevailing  aspect  of  the  place  was 
that  of  a  deserted  city.  But  in  less  than  a  week  things  had 
assumed  their  usual  appearance,  the  shops  being  all  open, 
and  the  streets  busily  thronged  with  population.  The 
officers  arid  soldiers  of  our  army  also  thronged  the  principal 
thoroughfares,  gratifying  their  curiosity  by  an  inspection  of 
the  celebrated  architectural  features  of  the  splendid  city. 
For  several  weeks  after  our  entrance,  a  number  of  the  houses 
continued  to  display  the  ilag  of  some  foreign  nation  from 
their  roofs  or  windows,  as  a  signal  of  their  neutrality  and  a 
claim  for  protection.  Among  these,  the  English,  the  French, 
and  the  Spanish,  predominated  ;  but  the  flags  of  almost  every 
European  nation  were  to  be  seen  flying  from  some  of  the 
buildings.  From  all  that  I  observed  or  learned,  however, 
those  houses  which  displayed  none  were  respected  equally 
with  those  which  did.  There  were  a  few,  and  only  a  few, 
isolated  attempts  at  plundering  by  small  parties  of  ruffians, 
some  of  whom  are  always  ready  to  seize  the  opportunity 


2G8  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER,    IN    MEXICO. 

offered  by  these  occasions.  But  these  parties  were  equally 
discouraged,  many  of  their  number  being  shot  by  the 
inhabitants,  who  defended  their  property  bravely,  when  they 
found  the  scoundrels  trying  to  force  into  their  premises  ; 
showing  that  even  Mexicans  will  fight,  when  they  have 
something  worth  fighting  t  for.  In  fact  for  several  nights 
after  our  victory,  the  number  of  dead  bodies  of  soldiers  found 
on  the  streets,  was  a  proof  that  midnight  robbery  and  plun 
der  was  about  as  difficult,  and  fully  more  dangerous,  than  in 
many  cities  of  the  States.  To  put  a  stop  to  these  proceed 
ings,  strong  patrols  were  sent  through  the  streets  at  night, 
to  apprehend  soldiers  found  out  of  their  quarters,  and  for  the 
preservation  of  good  order,  and  the  security  of  life  and 
property.  These  measures  tended  to  assure  the  inhabitants 
of  General  Scott's  good  intentions ;  and  in  a  very  short  time 
the  most  complete  confidence  was  restored,  and  the  inha 
bitants 'and  soldiers  mingled  everywhere  on  mutual  good 
terms.  That  a  number  of  individual  cases  of  ruffianism  did 
occur  during  the  campaign  it  would  be  absurd  to  deny.  I 
believe  scoundrelism  exists  to  a  large  extent  in  the  best 
constituted  armies ;  but  considering  the  description  of  troops 
of  which  our  army  was  composed,  and  the  loose  state  of 
discipline  prevalent,  I  think  the  crimes  and  outrages  com 
mitted  by  our  army  were  comparatively  few.  I  would  even 
go  further,  and  say  that  I  think  the  army  at  large  deserve 
credit  for  the  general  tenor  of  their  conduct  towards  the 
inhabitants  throughout  the  whole  of  the  campaign.  A 
considerable  portion  of  this  result  may  be  justly  ascribed  to 
the  conciliatory  system  adopted  and  uniformly  acted  upon 
by  General  Scott. 

After  remaining  at  the  gate  of  San  Cosmo  for  a  few  days, 
our  battery  moved  into  the  city,  where  we  found  tolerable 
quarters  in  a  large  Meson.  On  entering  the  city,  General 


THE    CITY    OF    MEXICO.  2G9 

Scott  demanded  from  the  Mexican  authorities,  the  sum  of 
200,000  dollars,  as  compensation  for  the  hardships  suffered 
by  the  troops  in  taking  the  city,  and  as  the  price  of  the  pro 
tection  extended  by  the  American  army,  to  all  descriptions 
of  property.  One  half  of  this  sum  was  to  be  expended  for 
the  benefit  of  the  sick  soldiers,  and  those  doing  duty  were  to 
be  furnished  with  a  new  blanket  and  two  pairs  of  boots  each 
with  the  other  half.  The  Mexican  Ayuntamiento  (town 
council)  cheerfully  complied  with  this  moderate  demand, 
very  glad  apparently  to  escape  so  easily.  We  had  now 
leisure  to  take  a  walk  occasionally  through  this  strange  city, 
which  so  intimately  blends  the  extremes  of  splendour  and 
squalor,  dirt  and  grandeur.  Of  some  of  the  more  prominent 
features  in  -it  I  will  attempt  to  give  an  idea,  though  perfectly 
aware  how  utterly  inadequate  all  description  of  mine  is  to 
convey  anything  like  a  correct  impression  of  the  city  as  a 
whole. 

The  city  of  Mexico,  which  was  commenced  in  1524,  is 
built  on  piles.  The  streets  are  sufficiently  wide,  and  run 
nearly  north  and  south,  east  and  west,  intersecting  each 
other  at  right  angles.  They  are  all  well  paved,  and  have 
side  walks  of  flat  stones,  which  are  worn  so  smooth  as  to  be 
quite  slippery,  and  in  some  places  rather  dangerous  to  the 
incautious  pedestrian.  In  looking  along  any  of  the  streets 
in  Mexico,  the  fronts  of  several  churches  or  other  religious 
buildings  are  prominent  objects  from  almost  any  point  of  view. 
The  quaint,  old-fashioned,  and  mixed  style  of  architecture 
peculiar  to  these  buildings,  which  are  usually  highly  orna- 
ineuted  with,  carving  and  sculpture,  and  painted  with  the  most 
brilliant  colours,  which  the  purity  of  the  atmosphere  pre 
serves  unimpaired  for  a  long  time  (charcoal  being  the  only 
fuel  consumed  in  Mexico),  gives  a  highly  picturesque  appear 
ance  to  the  streets,  such  as  1  have  never  seen  in  any  other 


270  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIEU    IN    MEXICO. 

city.  Hie  public  squares  are  spacious,  and  surrounded  by 
buildings  of  hewn  stone,  and  of  very  good  architecture.  The 
private  buildings  being  constructed  either  of  porous  amygda 
loid,  or  of  porphyry,  have  an  air  of  solidity,  and  even  of 
grandeur.  They  are  of  three  and  four  stories  high,  with  flat 
terrace  roofs,  and  many  of  them  are  ornamented  with  iron 
balconies.  The  houses  of  Mexico  are  all  square,  with  open 
courts.  The  corridors  or  piazzas  of  these  courts  are  orna 
mented  with  large  porcelain  vases,  in  which  are  planted  the 
most  beautiful  and  rare  flowers  and  evergreens  that  money 
can  procure.  A  magnifico  who  owned  one  of  these  houses 
had  retired  with  his  family  to  a  country  residence,  when  our 
troops  were  attacking  the  city ;  mid,  as  was  customary  at 
that  time,  one  of  our  Generals  entered  into  possession  of  it. 
The  owner  had  left  the  principal  part  of  his  furniture  in  the 
house,  which  appeared  to  give  him  no  concern  ;  but  he  came 
frequently  to  look  at  his  flowers,  and  finally  sent  a  servant 
to  live  there  for  the  purpose  of  attending  to  them.  lie  said 
they  had  cost  him  2,000  dollars,  and  he  would  not  part  with 
them  for  double  that  sum.  Many  of  those  courts  .  have 
fountains  in  the  centre,  which,  with  the  shade  of  the  high 
buildings  surrounding,  and  the  flowers  and  evergreens  ranged 
along  the  balustrades,  or  projecting  from  the  railings  of  the 
piazza,  give  a  refreshing  coolness  to  their  seclusion.  The 
entrances  to  these  houses  lead  through  magnificent  arch 
ways  in  the  centre  of  the  buildings,  generally  from  ten  to 
fifteen  feet  high,  and  surmounted  by  carved  and  projecting 
pediments.  These  are  closed  at  night  by  large  folding  gates, 
three  or  four  inches  thick,  and  studded  with  large  bolts  of 
iron,  or  covered  with  plates  of  the  same  metal,  or  of  copper, 
A  small  postern,  which  opens  inside,  is  used  until  morning, 
and  is  attended  by  a  domestic  called  the  porteria,  until  all 
the  household  have  retired  for  the  night.  All  the  lower 


LADHOXES    AND    LEl'EROS.  271 

windows,  and  in  many  cases  those  in  the  second  story  also, 
are  guarded  by  iron  bars — a  precaution  common  throughput 
the  \vhole  country,  where  a  man's  house  is  his  castle  in  the 
most  literal  sense  of  the  term.  .  But  these  precautions  are 
indispensable,  as  there  are  no  banks  or  issues  of  paper  money 
in  Mexico  ;  and  merchants  and  gentlemen  have  consequently 
immense  quantities  of  specie  in  their  houses,  amounting  to 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  in  many  cases.  Indians 
may  be  seen  in  some  of  the  business-streets,  trudging  along 
with  bags  of  dollars  on  their  shoulders,  at  all  hours  of  the 
clay — of  course  they  are  always  in  charge  of  a  clerk  or  other 
responsible  agent. 

Such  are  the  palaces  of  the  rich :  the  abodes  of  poverty 
are  not  in  the  interior  of  the  city.  Reversing  the  usual 
custom  of  England  and  America,  the  suburbs  are  almost 
wholly  occupied  by  the  lowest  portion  of  the  community, 
the  ladrones  and  leperos  (the  thieves  and  beggars),  with 
the  lower  class  of  itinerant  vendors  of  paltry  commodities, 
and  labourers.  It  is  calculated  that  20,000  of  the  inhabit 
ants  of  this  capital,  the  population  of  which  does  not  exceed 
150,000,  have  no  permanent  place  of  abode,  and  no  ostensi 
ble  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood.  After  passing  the  night, 
sometimes  in  the  open  air,  sometimes  under  cover,  they  issue 
forth  in  the  morning  to  prey  upon  the  community.  If  they 
are  fortunate  enough  to  gain  more  than  they  require  to 
maintain  themselves  for  a  day,  they  get  drunk  on  pulque 
and  mezcal,  a  brandy  distilled  from  pulque,  wrap  themselves 
up  in  their  blanket,  and  lie  down  under  a  church  porch,  or 
any  convenient  shelter  that  may  offer. 

The  ladrones  are  the  sharpers  and  higher  class  of  pick 
pockets  in  Mexico.  They  go  well  dressed,  and  would 
scarcely  be  taken  for  thieves  by  their  appearance,  except  by 
a  person  acquainted  with  their  habits.  They  are  very  dex- 


272  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

terous  in  levying  contributions  upon  the  public ;  and  some 
of  their  ingenious  stratagems,  having  that  object  in  view, 
would  do  no  discredit  to  the  genius  of  a  London  or  Parisian 
adept.  The  leper -os  are  the. canaille  of  rascaldom  ;  they  com 
bine  the  professions  of  thief  and  beggar ;  they  want  the 
inventive  genius  of  the  ladrones,  fly  at  lower  game,  and  have 
a 'dirty  and  suspicious  appearance,  that  would  put  an  obser 
vant  person  on  his  guard.  It  is  said  that  they  are  occasion 
ally  employed  by  the  rich  and  jealous  to  put  a  successful 
rival  out  of  the  way,  or  to  revenge  some  insult,  after  the 
manner  of  Spain  and  Italy.  When  our  troops  first  entered 
the  city,  a  great  number  of  our  men  fell  by  the  knives  of 
these  miscreants,  being  stabbed  by  them  when  strolling 
intoxicated  through  the  suburbs  and  low  quarters  of  the  city 
at  night.  In  fact,  so  numerous  were  these  street  assassina 
tions  for  several  nights,  that  General  Scott  issued  an  order 
adverting  to  the  fact,  and  cautioning  soldiers  against  leaving 
their  quarters,  unless  in  small  parties  and  well  armed.  But 
a  more  effectual  check  was  put  to  this  evil  by  the  men 
themselves,  a  number  of  whom,  irritated  by  these  cowardly 
assassinations,  resolved  on  applying  the  lex  talionis,  and 
sacrificing  a  few  of  those  fiends  to  the  manes  of  their 
slaughtered  comrades.  Armed  with  bowie-knives  and  re 
volvers,  several  of  them  sallied  forth  late  at  night,  and 
counterfeiting  the  actions  of  drunkenness,  they  killed  a 
number  of  those  whom  they  suspected  of  designs  of  that 
nature.  This  was  a  harsh  remedy ;  but  desperate  diseases 
require  desperate  remedies.  Certain  it  is  that  this  mode  of 
treatment  operated  an  effectual  cure,  as  the  lepcros  grew 
very  shy  of  approaching  drunken  soldiers  afterwards,  or  even 
of  being  out  in  the  streets  at  a  late  hour.  After  this  there 
were  few  cases  of  soldiers  being  stabbed  in  the  streets ;  but 
during  the  eight  months  our  army  occupied  the  city,  it  was 


MEN     OF    LETTERS.  2/3 

an  invariable  practice  of  the  soldier  in  walking  tlie  streets 
alone  late  at  night,  to  draw  his  weapon,  sabre,  bayonet,  or 
pistol,  and  in  suspicious  places  to  prefer  the  middle  of  the 
road. 

A  very  disgusting  feature  in  the  street  scenery  of  Mexico 
while  we  lay  there,  was  the  number  of  drunken  Indians  and 
Mexicans  of  low  caste,  both  male  and  female,  who  roamed 
the  streets  in  a  state  of  beastly  intoxication.  They  were 
often  to  be  seen  lying  across  the  foot  walks  of  the  most  public 
streets  and  thoroughfares,  especially  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
market,  dead  drunk,  and  often  in  a  state  of  almost  complete 
nudity.  The  police  seemed  to  take  no  notice  of  them,  and 
they  were  allowed  to  wallow  there  like  hogs  until  sufficiently 
recovered  to  get  up  and  stagger  off. 

The  letter-writers,  Evangelistas,  whose  occupation  consists 
of  writing  letters,  memorials,  petitions,  &c.,  for  those  who 
have  not  acquired  the  art  and  mystery  of  writing,  are  a 
numerous  and  notable  class  in  Mexico.  Thirty  or  forty  of 
them  were  constantly  to  be  found  ranged  along  the  edge  of 
the  parapet,  in  a  street  adjoining  the  market,  seated  on 
stools,  and  with  small  tables  in  front  of  them  placed  on  the 
carriage-road.  Their,  stock  in  trade  consists  of  a  basket 
containing  a  few  sheets  of  paper,  pens,  and  ink-horns.  They 
write  a  very  plain  and  distinct  hand,  but  they  write  slow, 
and  ornament  their  writing  by  a  profusion  of.  flourishes,  as 
all  Mexican  clerks  do.  A  sheet  of  paper  containing  a  speci 
men  of  their  handwriting  is  usually  exhibited  on  the  table 
where  they  sit.  To  judge  from  their  appearance,  they  did 
not  appear  to  be  a  very  thriving  craft.  But  as  my  comrade 
Bill  Xutt  remarked,  while  commenting  on  their  poverty- 
stricken  appearance,  "An  armed  republic  is  not  the  place 
for  the  encouragement  oi  men  of  letters." 

In  front  of  all  the  churches,  in  all  of  which  mass  is  cele- 


274  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

brated  daily,  there  were  always  congregated  a  multitude  of 
beggars,  exposing  deformities  and  frightful  ulcers,  and 
chanting  with  endless  monotony  their  "  caridad  por  Vajnor 
de  JDieu"  (charity  for  the  love  of  God).  Many  of  them  were 
cripples  who  had  lost  their  limbs  in  the  civil  wars  and  revo 
lutions,  of  such  frequent  recurrence  lately  in  Mexico.  Their 
number  had  also  been  augmented  by  the  late  battles  with 
our  troops.  I  have  frequently  seen  them  hold  up  the  stump 
of  an  amputated  arm,  or  leg,  when  an  American  officer  or 
soldier  was  passing,  and  repeat  the  names  of  the  engage 
ments  in  which  they  had  lost  them,  as  "  Cerro  Gordo," 
"  Chapultepec,"  &c.,  adding  a  few  imprecations  on  Santa 
Anna,  an  ingenious  ruse,  which  often  extracted  a  few  clacos 
from  their  generous  victors.  Soldiers  disabled  while  serving 
in  the  army  are  specially  permitted  by  the  Government  to 
beg,  as  a  compensation  for  the  wounds  they  have  received 
in  the  service  of  the  republic.  Certainly  a  most  economical 
mode  of  quartering  pensioners  on  the  public,  and  a  practical 
illustration  of  the  voluntary  system,  remarkable  in  a  nation 
so  far  behind  in  the  doctrines  of  our  modern  political 
economists. 

The  market  is  a  spacious  square  near  the  Plaza,  with  a 
tall  column  in  the  centre,  on  which  stands  a  statue  of  Santa 
Anna.  Fruits  and  vegetables  are  the  staple  commodities  of 
which  the  supply  is  most  abundant.  The  stalls  are  formed 
in  lines  facing  each  other,  leaving  ample  space  between  the 
rows  for  purchasers.  They  are  decked  with  a  variety  of 
beautiful  flowers,  which  are  always  in  great  demand  for  the 
adornment  of  shrines,  or  to  grace  a  festival  or  a  funeral. 
From  nine  to  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  the  buzz  and 
bustle  of  the  place  are  at  their  height,  at  which  time  it  pre 
sents  a  very  animated  appearance,  being  thronged  with 
Mexicans  of  every  class  and  colour,  from  the  pure  Spanish 


PULQUE  RIAB.  275 

haughty-looking  senora,  down  to  the  poor,  shrinking,  bare 
footed,  elfin-looking  and  half-naked  Indian  girls,  with  their 
baskets  of  fruits  or  vegetables.  English  potatoes  are  sold 
here  at  about  twopence  a  pound.  They  are  of  very  good 
quality,  but  from  their  clearness  in  comparison  with  other 
commodities,  the  yield  is  probably  very  small.  Cabbages, 
turnips,  and  other  vegetables  of  the  English  garden,  are 
plentiful  and  moderately  cheap.  Of  fruits,  I  saw  abundance 
of  apples,  peaches,  pears,  and  other  fruits  of  temperate 
climates,  with  almost  every  variety  of  tropical  fruits.  The 
quantities  of  capsicums,  and  peppers  of  every  shape,  size, 
and  colour,  which  one  sees  in  a  market  in  Mexico,  seem  to 
a  European  most  ludicrously  disproportionate  to  the  rest  of 
the  commodities.  Huge  baskets  of  them  meet  the  eye 
everywhere,  or  they  are  piled  up  in  heaps  on  a  mat,  or  piece 
of  coarse  cloth  on  the  ground.  These  peppers,  which  they 
call  chili,  are,  when  dried  and  ground,  the  cayenne  pepper 
used  in  England.  All  classes  of  the  inhabitants  use  them  to 
almost  every  article  of  food,  and  every  tienda  or  grocery  is 
furnished  with  an  unfailing  supply  "of  this  indispensable 
condiment,  dried,  squeezed  flat,  and  packed  in  boxes  like 
raisins. 

The  pulquerias,  shops  where  pulque  is  sold,  are  very 
numerous  in  the  city  of  Mexico.  They  are  all  very  gaudily 
painted  in  brilliant  water  colours,  or  fresco,  from  the  top  to 
the  bottom  of  the  walls  inside,  with  representations  of  land 
scapes,  animals,  battles,  &c.,  the  subject  of  the  painting 
being  illustrative  of  the  title  of  the  pulqueria.  These  paint 
ings,  though  of  a  rather  exaggerated  description,  are  generally 
executed  with  considerable  artistic  skill  and  taste.  The 
pulquerias  are  furnished  with  a  row  of  large  open  tubs,  kept 
scrupulously  clean,  containing  the  pulque,  which  arrives  from 
the  country  fresh  every  monrng,  and  is  generally  disposed 


276  ADVENTURES    OF    A    L50LDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

of  and  the  shop  closed  before  evening.  These  shops  are  the 
constant  resort  of  a  number  of  lepcros,  Indians,  and  greasers  ; 
the  latter  term  generally  applied  by  the  American  army  to 
the  male  portion  of  the  lower  class  of  Mexicans,  is  of  rather 
obscure  derivation.  A  genius  of  our"  company,  "  Ned  Loner- 
gan,''  gave  the  following  definition: — "Greaser,"  quoth  Ned, 
"  is  plainly  a  corruption  of  kreeser,  and  the  term  has  originat 
ed  from  their  custom  of  using  the  knife,  a  knife  for  stabbing 
being  called  a  kreese  in  the  East  Indies."  However,  a  plain 
matter  of  fact  being  suggested,  that  the  term  probably  owed 
its  origin  to  a  greasy  appearance  they  had  from  the  habitual 
disuse  of  soap,  Ned's  ingenious  definition  was  considered 
demolished.  These  greasers,  and  a  sprinkling  of  leperos, 
and  half-clad  Indians,  male  and  female,  congregate  in  and 
around  the  pulqueria  perpetually ;  now  quarrelling  and 
fighting,  now  hugging  and  kissing  each  other,  and  occasion 
ally  joining  in  some  popular  song  in  praise  of  their  favourite 
liquor.  The  burden  of  one  of  these  songs  runs  thus,  "  "Who 
does  not  love  pulque,  the  divine  liquor  which  the  angels 
drink  in  heaven  ?" 

In  the  village  of  Miscoac,  about  four  or  five  miles  from 
Mexico,  where  the  division  to  which  I  belonged  was  stationed 
during  the  truce  after  the  battles  of  Contreras  and  Churu- 
busco,  there  were  several  plantations  of  the  maguey ;  and  I 
have  frequently  seen  their  mode  of  treating  the  plant  for  the 
extraction  of  its  juice.  When  the  plant  is  on  the  point  of 
flowering,  which  occurs  from  its  fifth  to  its  tenth  year,  accord 
ing  to  soil  and  situation,  they  cut  out  the  central  part  or 
heart,  which  should  bear  the  flowers,  and  scoop  out  a  portion 
of  the  interior  pith,  leaving  a  round  cavity  or  reservoir,  capa 
ble  of  containing  from  one  to  two  gallons  according  to  the 
size  and  capacity  of  the  plant.  The  entrance  to  the  cavity, 
which  is  about  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter,  is  carefully 


MODE    OF    COLLECTING    THE    PULQUE.  277 

covered  with  a  flat  stone  to  prevent  the  evaporation  of  the 
juice,  and  to  hinder  the  cattle,  who  are  very  fond  of  it,  from 
drinking  it.  Plants  will  yield  from  a  gallon  to  a  gallon  and 
a  half  a-day  for  a  period  of  four  or  five  months,  when  the 
juice  of  the  plant  being  exhausted  it  withers  and  dies.  The 
following  is  the  mode  of  collecting  the  juice.  The  man  who 
collects  it  carries  a  pig-skin  on  his  back,  one  end  of  which  is 
attached  to  his  right  shoulder ;  the  other  end,  containing  the 
mouth  of  the  skin,  he  carries  over  his  left  shoulder,  holding  it 
with  his  left  hand.  In  his  right  hand  he  has  a  hollow  gourd 
about  two  inches  in  diameter  at  the  thick  end,  and  tapering 
to  a  point ;  it  is  about  eighteen  inches  long  and  perforated 
at  each  end.  Thus  equipped  he  goes  along  the  rows  of  the 
maguey  (or  agaves),  and  removing  the  stone  from  the  cavity, 
he  inserts  the  thick  end  of  the  gourd,  and  applying  his  mouth 
to  the  hole  at  the  small  end  he  rapidly  fills  it  by  suction ;  then 
putting  his  thumb  on  the  hole  to  exclude  the  air,  he  with 
draws  the  gourd  full  of  the  liquor,  and  transfers  its  contents 
to  the  pig-skin.  It  is  generally  collected  in  the  morning 
and  evening  only,  though  it  is  sometimes  also  collected  at 
noon.  When  taken  from  the  plant  it  is  sweet,  and  in  taste 
and  appearance  somewhat  resembles  sugar  and  water.  It  is 
then  poured  into  barrels  or  tubs,  when  it  soon  undergoes 
the  fermenting  process,  which  converts  it  into  pulque. 
After  it  has  fermented  about  twenty-four  hours  it  has 
a  pleasant  sweet  subacid  taste,  and  is  called  pulque  fresco 
(fresh  pulque)  ;  when  a  day  older  it  is  called  pulque  fuerte 
(thoroughly  fermented  pulque)  ;  it  has  then  a  slightly  putrid 
smell,  and  tastes  very  acidulous ;  m«st  seem  to  prefer  it  in 
the  latter  stage.  It  is  nearly  as  intoxicating  as  English  ale, 
and  in  Mexico  is  sold  for  about  sixpence  a  quart ;  but  in  the 
country  it  is  a  great  deal  cheaper.  The  pulquerias  in  Mexico 
are  all  kept  by  men,  and  their  owners  are  invariably  fat 


278  ADVENTURES  OF  A  SOLDIER  IN  MEXICO. 

As  they  are  the  only  fat  class,  and  indeed  with  the  excep 
tion  of  a  few  priests,  the  only  fat  individuals  I  saw  in  Mexico, 
it  would  seem  to  possess  the  property  of  fattening  in  no 
small  degree.  It  is  reckoned  a  wholesome  beverage  by 
Europeans  as  well  as  Mexicans,  and  our  surgeons  generally 
recommended  its  use  to  our  men  as  a  cure  for  diarrhoea  and 
bowel  complaint.  They  distil  a  strong  intoxicating  spiritu 
ous  liquor  from  pulque,  which  they  call  Mexcal ;  it  has  a  sort 
of  smoky  taste,  very  much  resembling  Irish  poteen. 

The  grand  cathedral  is  situated  at  one  end  of  the  Grand 
Plaza,  the  spacious  square  affording  full  display  to  the  archi 
tectural  beauties  of  a  very  large  and  finely-proportioned 
building,  the  front  of  which  has  a  very  imposing  effect  \vlien 
viewed  from  the  extreme  end  of  the  square.  On  a  near  view, 
however,  the  carving  in  front  of  the  building  exhibits  a  con 
siderable  degree  of  the  gingerbread  style  of  architecture.  But 
it  is  in  the  interior  that  one  sees  most  to  admire.  The  mag 
nificence  and  splendour  of  the  grand  altar,  and  the  numerous 
shrines  that  adorn  the  walls  of  the  vast  pile,  astonish  equally 
by  the  profusion,  the  richness,  and  the  variety  of  their 
decorations.  The  interior  of  the  dome  is  very  well  painted 
with  scriptural  subjects,  and  as  they  receive  a  good  light, 
and  the  colours  are  brilliant,  the  paintings  show  with  admira 
ble  effect  from  the  floor  of  the  cathedral.  There  are  a  num 
ber  of  good  paintings  in  the  building,  though  I  believe  none 
of  any  extraordinary  merit;  rich  and  gaudy  ornaments,  and 
gilding,  being  evidently  more  appreciated  than  the  works  of 
the  celebrated  masters.  A  picture  occupying  the  left  side 
of  the  grand  altar,  as  we  advanced  by  the  principal  entrance, 
attracted  the  attention  of  our  party.  It  was  a  representation 
of  purgatory,  and  a  number  of  priests,  bishops,  and  digni 
taries  of  the  Church  in  full  canonicals,  and  with  mitre,  crozier, 
and  other  insignia  of  their  office,  appeared  in  the  foreground, 


THE    ALAMEDA.  27 & 

as  the  principal  figures,  tossing  in  agony  amidst  the  flames. 
These  wretched-looking  beings,  who  one  would  think  ought 
to  have  been  stripped  of  their  gowns  if  worthy  of  such 
severe  discipline,  seemed  vainly  imploring  the  assistance  of 
the  angels  and  cherubs,  who  hovered  round  for  the  purpose 
of  rescuing  those  sufficiently  purified.  Several  of  these 
angels  were  engaged  in  ascending  to  heaven  with  a  wretched- 
looking  lepero,  or  ragged  beggar,  while  those  who  remained 
seemed  unanimously  of  opinion  that  the  churchmen  were 
not  yet  entitled  to  their  offices.  "  Well,  Findlay,  what  would 
your  countryman  John  Knox  say  if  lie  could  rise  from  his 
grave  and  see  all  the  splendour  of  this  building  ?"  asked  Xutt, 
of  a  Scotchman  belonging  to  our  party,  as  we  were  quit 
ting  the  cathedral.  "  Hoot  man!  he  would  just  say  it  was 
ane  of  the  richest  diamonds  on  the  whore  o'  Babylon's  petti 
coat,"  was  the  somewhat  characteristic  reply  of  honest 
Findlay. 

The  Alameda  is  a  large  square  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in 
circumference,  thickly  planted  with  magnificent  umbrageous 
trees,  and  intersected  with  spacious  walks  bordered  with 
flowering  shrubs  and  adorned  with  fountains  and  jets  d'eau. 
Being  a  most  delicious  shady  retreat,  and  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  most  central  part  of  the  city,  it  is  much 
resorted  to  in  warm  weather  by  all  classes.  There  is  a  fine 
shady  avenue  for  equestrians  all  round  it,  while  in  the 
interior  walks,  rich  and  splendidly  dressed.dons  and  donnas 
rub  shoulders  with  the  blanketed  lepero.  Exclusivism  at 
least  is  a  vice  that  has  no  footing  in  Mexico,  and  the  extreme 
ends  of  society  jostle  each  other  without  that  air  of  defiant 
surprise  which  their  casual  encounter  seems  to  elicit  in  some 
more  highly  enlightened  countries. 

The  burial  ground  of  Santa  Maria  deserves  notice.  It  is 
situated  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  and  is  enclosed  with  a 


280  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

thick  wall  about  fifteen  feet  high  and  ten  thick.  In  the 
inside  of  this  wall,  from  the  bottom  to  the  top,  there  are 
recesses  in  regular  order,  into  which  the  coffins  are  inserted, 
a  plate  containing  the  epitaph  being  placed  over  the  end  of 
each  coffin,  and  cemented  into  the  wall.  There  is  a  piazza 
round  the  inside  of  the  wall,  and  a  number  of  the  coffins 
have  shrines  in  front  of  the  epitaph  plates,  which  are  lit  up 
on  festival  nights,  when  the  burial  ground  is  a  favourite 
promenade  of  the  relatives  and  friends  of  the  deceased  inter 
red  there.  The  area  of  the  burying  ground,  which  contains 
about  ten  or  twelve  acres,  is  laid  off'  in  gravel  walks  bordered 
with  flowers  anil  shrubbery,  and  in  it  are  a  number  of  very 
handsome  marble  tombs.  The  grounds  are  very  tastefully 
kept,  and  altogether  the  place  has  more  the  aspect  of  cheer 
fulness,  than  the  gloom  which  usually  accompanies  the  sight 
of  a  graveyard.  Among  the  ornamental  shrubs  were  some 
of  the  most  luxuriant  specimens  of  broom  in  full  flower,  that 
I  ever  beheld.  Several  of  these  shrubs  were  about  twelve 
feet  high,  and  being  completely  covered  with  their  golden 
blossoms,  they  had  a  most  glorious  appearance.  It  was  the 
first  broom  I  had  seen  in  Mexico,  and  it  seemed  like  an  old 
friend,  its  appearance  irresistibly  carrying  me  back  to  the 
broomy  knowes  of  my  native  land.  The  burial  ground  is 
the  property  of  the  church,  and  as  the  sums  charged  for  the 
privilege  of  interring  in  it  are  enormously  high,  of  course 
none  but  the  rich  inter  in  it.  The  lower  classes  bury  in 
other  places  and  without  coffins.  They  are  carried  to  the 
grave  on  a  rude  sort  of  litter,  the  corpses  of  children  and 
women  being  profusely  decked  with  roses  and  other  flowers, 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

CONCLUSION. 

As  the  Mexican  Government  showed  no  signs  of  wishing  to 
terminate  the  war,  refusing  to  correspond  with  the  American 
commissioners,  although  a  large  party  in  Mexico  were 
avowedly  in  favour  of  peace,  we  had  still  the  prospect  of  a 
few  more  engagements.  The  Mexican  war  party  were 
encouraged  by  the  dissensions  among  our  officers,  a  cabal 
of  whom  had  managed  to  get  General  Scott  superseded  in 
the  command  by  General  Butler — a  change  very  unpalata 
ble  to  the  troops,  who  idolized  their  veteran  commander,  so 
uniformly  successful,  and  whose  triumph  over  the  weak 
machinations  of  his  contemptible  adversaries  is  now  matter 
of  history.  The  desertions  of  our  soldiers  to  the  Mexican 
army,  which  were  still  numerous,  in  spite  of  the  fearful 
example  of  the  execution  of  those  taken  at  Churubusco,  also 
served  to  inspire  that  party  with  hope. 

As  the  majority  of  these  deserters  were  Irish,  the  cause 
commonly  assigned  by  the  officers  for  their  desertion,  was, 
that  as  they  were  Roman  Catholics  they  imagined  they  were 
fighting  against  their  religion  in  fighting  the  Mexicans. 
There  was  a  portion  of  truth  in  that  view  of  the  subject,  but 
it  came  very  short  of  the  whole  truth.  I  have  good  reason 
to  believe,  in  fact  in  some  individual  cases  I  know,  that  harsh. 
and  unjust  treatment  by  their  officers  operated  far  more 
strongly  than  any  other  consideration  to  produce  the  deplo 
rable  result.  The  various  degrading  modes  of  punishment, 


282  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

often  inflicted  by  young,  headstrong,  and  inconsiderate  offi 
cers,  in  their  zeal  for  the  discipline  of  the  service,  for  the 
most  trivial  offences,  were  exceedingly  galling  to  the  fiery, 
untameable  spirit  of  the  sons  of  the  Green  Isle.  And  I  have 
not  the  slightest  doubt  that  those  barbarous  modes  of  punish 
ment  in  common  adoption,  and  the  want  of  sympathy  gene 
rally  existing  between  the  officers  and  their  men,  were  the 
exciting  causes  of -the  majority  of  these  cases  of  desertion  so 
lamentably  frequent. 

One  of  the  modes  of  punishment  practised  while  in  the 
city,  consisted  in  placing  the  culprit  standing  on  a  barrel  in 
the  open  street,  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  sun  all  day,  and 
the  derisive  admiration  of  the  street  passengers.  Of  course 
a  sentry  was  in  attendance  to  shoot  or  run  him  through  with 
a  bayonet  if  he  attempted  to  escape  from  his  uncomfortable 
position.  Another  mode  consisted  in  placing  the  victim  on 
a,  high  wooden  horse,  and  I  knew  of  one  man  losing  his  life,  in 
consequence  of  being  compelled  to  sit  for  a  series  of  days  and 
nights  in  that  position ;  one  night  while  asleep,  he  fell  from 
the  back  of  his  inanimate  steed,  which  was  about  eight  feet 
high,  on  the  hard  pavement,  and  was  so  severely  injured  that 
he  died  shortly  afterwards  in  consequence. 

But  the  favourite  punishment  was  that  called  the  buck  arid 
gag ;  which  is  administered  after  the  following  manner.  The 
culprit  being  seated  on  the  ground,  his  feet  are  drawn  up  to 
his  hams,  and  his  wrists  tied  firmly  in  front  of  his  legs ;  a 
long  stick  or  broom  handle  is  then  inserted  between  his  legs 
and  arms,  going  over  his  arms  and  under  his  bent  knees,  a 
gag  is  then  placed  in  his  mouth  and  tied  firmly  behind  his 
head.  In  this  helpless  condition,  unable  to  move  hand,  foot, 
or  tongue,  he  is  left  for  a  series  of  hours,  or  even  days,  accord 
ing  to  the  humour  of  his  tormentor.  This  revolting  and  dis 
gusting  punishment,  which  is  often  inflicted  at  the  mere 


PROSPECTS    OF    PEACE.  283 

whim  of  an  officer,  has  long  been,  and,  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
still  continues  a  favourite  mode  of  punishment  in  the  Ameri 
can  army. 

13ut  the  expectations  of  the  Mexican  war  party  were  soon 
damped  by  the  vigour  with  which  the  United  States  seemed 
resolved  to  prosecute  the  war  to  an  honourable  issue.  Large 
reinforcements  arrived  in  January  and  February,  making  up 
our  total  strength  to  at  least  12,000  effective  men.  And  the 
whole  army  being  kept  at  diligent  drill,  by  the  end  of  March 
we  had  by  far  the  most  efficient  army  that  had  been  in  the 
field  since  the  commencement  of  the  war.  This  wise  policy 
of  the  States  tended  greatly  to  facilitate  the  treaty  which 
General  Scott  and  Mr.  Trist  had  begun  to  negotiate  with  the 
Mexican  Government,  who  at  length  seemed  willing  to  come 
to  terms. 

About  the  middle  of  April,  it  was  currently  reported,  mucli 
to  our  satisfaction,  that  the  basis  of  a  treaty  had  been  agreed 
upon  between  the  Mexican  Government  and  Mr.  Trist,  which 
had  been  despatched  to  Washington  for  the  action  of  the 
Legislature.  The  war  was  now  considered  over,  all  agreeing 
that  the  States  were  tired  of  the  contest,  and  would  with 
draw  from  it  as  soon  as  they  could  without  a  palpable  sacri 
fice  of  the  national  honour.  Still,  as  the  result  was  by  no 
means  certain,  our  commander  continued  to  maintain  the 
efficiency  of  the  troops  by  rigid  discipline  and  a  wholesome 
system  of  drill. 

It  was  about  the  beginning  of  May  when  the  news  of  the 
French  Revolution  reached  Mexico,  creating  a  vast  deal  of 
excitement  and  speculation  among  all  classes  of  the  army; 
indeed,  to  judge  from  the  triumphant  expression  of  counte 
nance  worn  by  the  more  enthusiastic  of  the  worshippers  of 
democratic  gove  'nment,  they  seemed  to  believe  that  the 


284  ADVENTURES  OF  A  SCLDIER  IN  MEXICO. 

millennium  of  republicanism  Lad  arrived  at  last,  the  rcful- 
gency  of  their  glorious  stars  having  at  last  penetrated  and 
dispelled  the  noxious  fogs  of  European  despotism.  I'Vrhap.s 
if  these  too  sanguine  worshippers  of  the  goddess  of  liberty 
could  have  foreseen  the  events  of  the  last  few  years — par 
exemplc,  the  spectacle  of  the  Pope  forced  on  his  unwilling 
subjects,  and  propped  in  the  fisherman's  chair  by  French 
bayonets — it  might  have  moderated  their  enthusiasm. 

The  news  of  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  peace  arrived 
about  the  middle  of  May,  an  event  infinitely  more  interesting 
to  us  all,  than  the  downfall  of  European  dynasties.  The  war 
was  now  at  an  end,  and  the  intelligence  seemed  to  diffuse 
general  satisfaction  ;  splendid  fireworks  were  exhibited  in  the 
Plaza,  in  celebration  of  the  event;  and  the  inhabitants  gene 
rally  seemed  delighted  at  the  prospect  of  peace.  The  only 
class  who  seemed  to  feel  it  a  misfortune,  was  the  numerous 
train  of  gamblers,  sharpers,  and  other  camp  followers,  who, 
like  ill-omened  birds  of  prey,  hung  round  our  army  ;  and 
who  seemed  by  their  lugubrious  countenances  to  have 
received  a  grievous  blow  and  discouragement  by  this  sudden 
end  to  their  accursed  occupations. 

The  division  to  which  I  belonged,  left  the  cit}T  of  Mexico 
on  our  homeward  route,  on  the  29th  of  May  ;  but  owing  to 
the  scarcity  of  shipping  at  Yera  Cruz,  our  battery  had  to 
stay  a  month  at  Jalapa,  until  a  sufficient  number  of  vessels 
should  have  arrived  from  the  States.  This  delay  was  a  seri 
ous  misfortune,  as  it  detained  us  until  the  period  of  yellow 
fever  had  commenced  in  New  Orleans,  and  which  wre  would 
otherwise  have  anticipated.  Our  company,  with  its  battery 
and  a  hundred  horses  belonging  to  it,  embarked  in  a  largo 
steamer  at  Vera  Cruz,  on  the  15th  of  July  ;  the  cabin  fitted 
up  with  stalls,  contained  our  horses,  the  men  occupied  the 


YELLOW    FEVER.  285 

upper  deck,  and  after  a  fair  voyage  of  four  days  we  arrived 
at  New  Orleans,  where  we  turned  in  our  horses  to  the  quar 
termaster  tc  be  sold. 

We  remained  in  New  Orleans  a  few  days,  and  on  the  23rd 
of  July  embarked  in  a  brig  called  the  Patrick  Henry,  for 
New  York,  We  left  all  our  sick,  consisting  of  five  or  six 
men,  who  were  ill  with  diarrhoea,  in  hospital  at  New  Orleans, 
and  there  were  nine  men  absent  without  leave  ;  these  had 
evidently  taken  the  earliest  opportunity  of  bidding  good  bye 
to  Uncle  Sam's  service  on  landing  in  the  States.  We  were 
towed  down  the  river  by  a  steamer  on  the  24th,  and  on  the 
2.5th,  the  wind  being  fair,  we  made  sail.  Before  we  had  been 
a  day  out,  two  of  our  men  fell  sick,  complaining  of  pain  in 
the  head,  and  in  a  few  hours  after,  we  had  about  a  dozen  on 
the  sick  list,  arid  the  symptoms  of  the  disease,  vomiting  and 
delirium,  confirmed  our  worst  fears;  we  had  the  virulent  and 
deadly  tropical  plague,  the  dreaded  yellow  fever,  on  board. 
The  surgeon,  whose  name  I  have  forgotten,  was  most  diligent 
and  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  fatal 
malady,  and  relieve  the  sufferings  of  the  sick ;  by  his  own 
directions  he  was  wakened  every  two  hours  during  the  night, 
that  he  might  observe  the  state  .of  his  patients  and  adminis 
ter  medicine ;  but  in  spite  of  his  exertions,  the  fatal  disease 
claimed  a  number  of  victims,  and  before  we  reached  New 
York,  sixteen  of  our  number  had  been  consigned  to  the  deep. 
At  one  period  of  the  voyage  more  than  two  thirds  of  those 
on  board  were  on  the  doctor's  list,  and  our  prospects  were 
gloomy  in  the  extreme ;  more  especially  as  the  season  was 
that  in  which  calms  are  prevalent  in  the  gulf;  and  to  be 
becalmed  fur  clays,  perhaps  weeks,  in  our  floating  pest-house, 
every  one  felt  would  bo  the  destruction  of  one-half  or  two- 
thirds  of  those  on  board.  As  a  climax  to  our  misfortunes, 


286  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IN    MEXICO. 

the  medicine  which  our  surgeon  had  been  using,  and  on 
which  he  depended  for  the  successful  treatment  of  the 
disease,  was  nearly  exhausted,  and  many  began  to  consider 
themselves  only  spared  from  the  Mexican  bullets  to  die  a 
more  horrible  death.  In  the  midst  of  these  gloomy  antici 
pations,  we  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  a  large  vessel 
bound  to  Charleston ;  having  signalled  her,  as  she  was 
going  under  easy  sail,  she  lay  to  till  we  sent  a  boat  with  our 
surgeon  over  to  her,  when,  fortunately,  the  captain  was  able 
to  supply  him  with  a  quantity  of  the  medicine  he  required. 
To  add  to  our  good  fortune,  a  fine  breeze  sprang  up  in  the 
evening,  which  lasted  until  we  reached  New  York,  on  the 
morning  of  the  12th  of  August,  wrhen  we  dropped  anchor 
opposite  Staten  Island. 

Soon  after  our  arrival  a  surgeon  came  on  board,  and 
ordered  all  our  sick  to  be  taken  ashore  to  the  hospital  at 
Staten  Island.  The  vessel  was  to  remain  at  quarantine  until 
thoroughly  cleansed  and  fumigated ;  but  the  remainder  of 
the  soldiers  were  to  be  landed  at  Governor's  Island  as  soon 
as  possible.  Accordingly,  our  sick,  amounting  to  between 
thirty  and  forty,  were  sent  ashore,  a  number  of  them  having 
to  be  carried  up  from  the  hold,  and  handed  down  the  side 
of  the  vessel  into  the  boat.  The  disease  communicated  to 
several  of  the  hospital  attendants,  a  few  of  whom  died  of  it. 
A  number  of  the  inhabitants  also  caught  the  dangerous 
infection ;  and  for  a  month  after  cases  of  yellow  fever  were 
of  frequent  occurrence  on  that  side  of  Staten  Island  ;  in 
fact,  though  a  favourite  resort  of  summer  parties  from  Xew 
York,  steamers  ceased  to  ply  to  and  from  it  for  some  time, 
on  account  of  the  prevailing  disease,  the  public  being  warned 
by  the  papers  from  visiting  it. 

The  remainder  of  our  company  were  put  on  board  a  small 


CONCLUSION.  28*7 

.sloop,  and  carried  up  to  Governor's  Island,  where  we  landed 
about  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  I  thought  it  a  curious 
coincidence  that  I  was  landing  in  Governor's  Island  again  on 
the  evening  of  the  12th  of  August,  having  landed  there  on 
the  12th  of  August  three  years  before.  To  complete  the 
coincidence,  it  was  at  the  same  hour,  and  exactly  the  same 
sort  of  a  lovely  evening.  We  were  lodged  in  some  empty 
rooms  in  the  castle  for  that  night,  and  the  next  day  went 
into  tents  out  on  the  field.  These  tents  had  no  wooden  bot 
toms  or  flooring,  as  they  certainly  ought  to  have  had,  where 
they  could  have  been  so  easily  procured.  Many  of  the  men 
were  weak  from  the  effects  of  fever ;  and  several  who  fell  ill 
and  died  at  that  time  were  evidently  victims  to  this  disre 
gard  of  the  health  of  the  soldier. 

About  sixty  of  the  company,  who  had  enlisted  for  the 
duration  of  the  war  in  Mexico,  were  discharged  a  few  weeks 
aft<-r  our  arrival.  The  remainder  of  our  company,  after  we 
had  been  about  a  month  on  Governor's  Island,  our  sick 
having  nearly  all  joined  us  from  Staten  Island,  were  sent  to 
Baltimore.  There  I  passed  the  remainder  of  my  enlistment, 
being  discharged  on  the  12th  of  August,  1850.  As  the 
remaining  two  years  which  I  passed  in  the  sendee  present 
only  the  usual  barren  and  monotonous  features  of  a  soldier's 
life  in  garrison,  I  have  resolved  on  concluding  the  narrative 
with  my  return  from  Mexico. 

And  now,  tired  reader,  in  conclusion,  allow  me  to  say  a 
few  words  deprecatory  of  your  severe  criticism.  The  fore 
going  rather  sketchy  and  imperfect  narrative  was  written, 
without  the  help  of  notes,  some  years  after  the  events  which 
it  describes  occurred.  Trusting  to  memory  for  details  and 
statistics,  I  am  aware  that  a  few  slight  unintentional  mis 
takes  might  be  detected  in  the  course  of  the  narrative. 


288  ADVENTURES    OF    A    SOLDIER    IX    MEXICO. 

However,  satisfied  of  truthfulness  of  intent,  I  feel  that  I  have 
throughout  endeavoured  to  "  Nothing  extenuate,  nor  set  dowr 
aught  in  malice."  I  am  also  confident  that  should  any  of  my 
old  fellow-comrades  ever  read  this  narrative,  while  acknow 
ledging  the  general  accuracy  of  its  descriptions,  they  will  hear 
tily  subscribe  to  most  of  the  opinions  expressed  in  it. 


,  -UNiVEPi  :rv   i 

V  -  CF 

X 


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